Chuck Versus the Unrequited Love
by kisa-kara-chan
Summary: When Casey's old partner turns up to help protect Chuck,Casey finds himself in a complex situation with his feelings.Then during a mission,Lara gets fatally poisoned when saving Chuck's life.Will they find a cure?What are Casey's true feelings?CaseyxOC
1. Prologue: New Mission

**Okay, here's the new fanfic! I hope you like it! Please R&R and tell me what you think!**

**Full pairings: CaseyxOC, ChuckxSarah, ElliexDevon.**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak.  
Claimer: Lara and idea (c) me**

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Prologue: New Mission

"What's our mission today, General?" Sarah Walker inquired, arms crossed. They were inside their secret base known as the 'Castle'.

From the screen, General Beckman looked at Major John Casey of the NSA. "Major, I recall that you have been acquainted with Agent Lara Clark of the CIA before, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am. We worked together for two months before we were both re-assigned," he replied, "One of the best damn partners I've ever had."

Chuck Bartowski looked between his two handlers and back at the General. "With all due respect, General, what does this have to do with _me_." He asked.

"I'm assigning her as a new member of Team Bartowski," General Beckman announced, "And before you protest, Major Casey, the transfer is only temporary unless she wants the job to be permanent. Good luck and be nice." Then the screen went blank.

Chuck turned to Casey. "Why would you protest against Lara coming?" he asked.

"Don't ask," the major brushed off gruffly, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Sarah decided to answer instead. "According from what I heard from inside the CIA, Casey's feelings for her were compromised during a mission," she explained, "But that's only the basis of it. Casey would know the full details, but... he doesn't seem to be sharing."

Casey scoffed, "She's right. Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, Bartowski."

"What is her cover-up job going to be?" Chuck asked, "You've got to at least let me know_ that_."

He scowled in reply. "She's going to be working at the Buy More and pretend to be my girlfriend," he answered.

The Intersect blinked. "W-Wait... did you just say 'girlfriend'?" he noted.

The NSA agent nodded. "We've done it before, just like you two are now, but more... professional, let's say."

"And is this before, after, or during the time when your feelings began to be compromised?" Chuck pushed.

Casey began to advance toward him, death raging in his cold eyes. "You're in for a world of-"

"Let's get back on track!" Sarah interjected, stepping in front of Chuck protectively, "When do you think she'll be here by?"

"Probably later in the afternoon," he answered, "Agent Clark has a habit of popping in and out at odd intervals, and it annoys the hell outta me. She does enjoy surprising me with the odd times she appears, and that _also_ annoys the hell outta me."

Chuck blinked. "What does that mean? Should we go back to work at the Buy More until she arrives?" he asked.

"She meeting us there, so count on it, Bartowski," Casey informed, shouldering past him towards the stairwell.

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**Please Review!!!**


	2. Meet Lara Clark, CIA Gov Operative

**So here's the next chapter to Chuck Versus the Unrequited Love. In original I wanted to cut this whole story into just four chapters, not including the prologue and the epilogue, so it could also be somewhat visualized as an actual episode. But guess what? That's a whole LOT of words that needs to fill up 15 minutes before a commercial, so... I just decided to stick with what I'm doing now, which is... well... NOT that plan.**

**For all of you Chuck fans, I deeply apologize if any of the characters are too OCC-ish, but I've tried my best to keep them in character, _especially_ Casey (because I have to keep his 'don't-mess-with-me' attitude while revealing his more "human" side/lovey-dovey side. haha.). Please review and tell me how I'm doing on that.**

**Please, please, PLEASE R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
Claimer: Everything else, including Lara Clark (c) me**

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Chapter One: Meet Lara Clark, CIA Gov. Operative

Morgan Grimes, Chuck's best friend, was poking around the Buy More, and saw a very attractive black-haired woman entering the store, her small blue purse at her side. She was wearing black slacks and a red button-up T-shirt, with the first top button undone. Her hair was tied up into a neat ponytail and she looked around with curious, searching golden eyes. She wore flat black heels which, surprisingly, didn't make a sound every time she took a step.

"Who's _that_?" Lester Partel asked him, not taking his eyes off the woman carrying a small blue purse.

"I have no idea," Jeff Barnes replied, also staring at the same woman as the other two were, "But I know one thing..."

"She's hot," both Lester and Jeff said at once.

Morgan looked at them both. "Maybe you two should go talk to her," he suggested, "By the way, have you guys seen Chuck? He told me he just went on his break 15 minutes ago."

"Not here, and we're not going," Lester stated.

The spiky-haired brunette sighed, "Are you guys just going to stand there all day or go talk to her?"

The girl's eyes suddenly fell upon them, and she walked towards them.

"Oh my gosh!" Jeff exclaimed, "She's coming this way!"

"Quick, act professional," Lester ordered.

"Excuse me," she asked, "but does John Casey work here?"

"Casey?" Morgan repeated, "Yeah, he does work here. Not too sure where he is right now, but-"

"I'm sure we could help you..." Lester cut off, grinning.

"Lara?" A voice gasped.

They turned and looked to see John Casey and Chuck Bartowski standing there.

"Casey!" Lara Clark exclaimed, running into his embrace, "It's been so long!"

Before she could say anything else, he cut her off by tightly pressing his lips against hers, his arms wrapping around her.

Chuck was deeply surprised by the sudden display of emotion the major had. If he had known any better, he could have sworn that Casey and Lara were a real couple.

"So how have you been?" Lara asked.

"Pretty good. You seem to be great too," he responded, a somewhat half-forced smile on his face.

Morgan, Lester and Jeff walked over to them.

"Casey, you _know_ this woman?" Morgan implored.

He nodded. "How could I not know my own girlfriend? This is Lara Clark."

"Your _girlfriend_?!" both Jeff and Lester cried out.

_Back off, she's mine_, he thought, resisting the urge to break both their necks, _Wait a sec. Did I just think that?! What the hell is wrong with me?!_

Morgan smiled. "Never knew you were the type to have one," he commented.

Lara pulled out of Casey's embrace and looked at Chuck. "You must be Chuck Bartowski. Casey's told me so much about you," she greeted, "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Chuck replied, a bit taken aback. _She's like the complete opposite of Casey! How could she have been able to fall for him?_ He thought,_ this is crazy! Insane, almost! Casey! _Our_ Casey! The 'you're-dead-Bartowski' Casey! Fall in love with someone?! It's completely uncalled for!_

"Um... Chuck?" Morgan said awkwardly, "You're kinda spacing out there."

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "I'm sorry, what?"

_Moron_, Casey thought, _you'd better not be thinking ways how to tease me about this later. Or else _I'm_ going to be thinking up ways of how to _kill _you_.

"Lara's going to start working with us at the Buy More," Jeff said rather excitedly.

"Really?!" Chuck exclaimed, "I mean- well, that's great! When are you starting?"

She grinned, her golden eyes sparkling. "Tomorrow!" she announced, "I've already arranged everything with Big Mike."

"So if you need any help, I'm Lester Partel, this is my buddy Jeff Barnes, and this is Morgan Grimes," Lester introduced, "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

She chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm sure Chuck and Casey will help me. But it's good to know that I'll have friends to support me."

"It's good to have you back," Casey said, wrapping an arm tightly around her waist and pulling her against him, "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," she whispered, "It's been far too long since I've last seen you."

"Whoa, long-distance relationship, much?" Jeff noted, "You know, they don't usually last very long you know."

"Where were you coming from?" Lester inquired.

"Washington, DC," she replied, smiling warmly up at Casey, "I work with computers in one of the local businesses there."

Casey bent down and planted a kiss across her lips. "So what brought you to Burbank, California? You never told me that on the phone," he lied smoothly, as if the fact was real.

"Well..." he began, "When you told me about your job at the Buy More, as well as all of your mini adventures when assisting Chuck with his Nerd Herd supervisor duties, I kinda wanted to come. My mini adventures aren't as exciting as yours, so I applied for the job a day after you told me I could stay with you until I found an apartment for myself."

Anger flashed across his eyes for a moment as he knew that she just made that up. But then he seemed to be able to calm himself as he remembered it had to be a believable cover-up and said, "Right, right. Now I remember."

Suddenly, Big Mike, their boss, stalked over with a huge grin on his face. He shook Lara's hand warmly. "You must be Lara Clark. It's so nice to finally meet you! I'm Big Mike, owner of this Buy More store. My, my, you're so much cuter in person than you were on the phone," he greeted.

"Whoa, you'd better back off there, Boss," Morgan commented, "She already belongs to John here."

"Guys, you shouldn't make her sound like an object. People aren't objects, remember?" Chuck said.

Lara smiled. "Thanks Chuck," she thanked, hugging Casey's arm, "But in any case, Morgan's right. John Casey is my boyfriend."

Big Mike laughed, "Sorry for that little random flirting there. Anyway, Chuck, John, why don't you two take the rest of the day off and help make Lara feel right at home. After all, she is starting work here tomorrow."

Without warning, Sarah walked through the doors of the Buy More and walked over to them. "Hey guys," she greeted, looking at Chuck, "Hi Chuck."

"Hey Sarah," he replied.

"Oh, is _this_ Sarah Walker? Chuck's girlfriend that works at the restaurant next door, Orange Orange, was it now?" Lara said cheerfully, "Casey's told me so much about you too! He's told me about you and Chuck's current relationship and everything!"

"And I take it you're Lara Clark? Casey's long-time girlfriend? I've heard about you. Casey's told me about you before, and how you two have a long-distance relationship," Sarah replied, holding out her hand.

She shook it and Lester suggested, "Why don't you four go on a double date or something, since John and Chuck have the day off?"

"That's a great idea! The happy couples could get some alone time," Jeff added, grinning like a moron, "If you know what I mean."

"Sounds like a great idea!" Sarah exclaimed, grabbing Chuck's arm, "Let's go!"

"Uh- we'll see you guys later!" Chuck stated as the four of them walked out of the Buy More, heading over to Orange Orange.

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The group took the secret entrance down to the 'Castle', where Casey went to change into his completely black-coloured outfit. He had his black T-shirt, black jeans, black hiking boots, and his black leather jacket.

"Wow, Casey, you haven't changed one bit," Lara commented, leaning against the table.

"First things first," Casey announced, glaring at Chuck and Sarah, "don't _ever_, and I mean, _EVER_ bug me about my love life."

Funny thing was, both of them ignored him.

"So you're Agent Lara Clark of the CIA?" Chuck inquired, trying to ignore Casey's continuing glare at him.

She nodded. "Yes, I've been with the CIA for some time now. Over 6 years, at least," she replied, "I met Agent Casey just a few years back. We were investigating a large drug dealing organization, but we were taken off the case after it was seen that things were getting to dangerous. We worked together as undercover operatives for two years before we had to split. It was actually only a month after we started working together that Casey discovered his true feelings for me."

"Come on, Lara, don't talk about that," the major whined, crossing his arms gruffly, "Things may have changed since then. I may not be the man I once was."

She looked at him with curious golden eyes. "No, you're right. You've... softened... even if it's just a tiny bit," she informed, touching his chest gently and smiling at him teasingly, "Reminds me of when I made you soften up too, from your super hard core reserve, sheesh!"

"But if that's true, how come General Beckman kept you two on the job?" Chuck asked, recalling that the general was considering taking Sarah off the job after her feelings were compromising her duty as his handler.

"Because we managed to prove that our mission was more important that our feelings for each other. Sure, we still _had_ our feelings, but we always made sure that our duties came before our love for each other," Casey explained.

Chuck grinned. "So you mean you still love her?"

He shot him a glare. "Can it, Bartowski. Don't make me strangle you," he threatened.

"Casey, be nice," Lara scolded.

"Can you _blame_ me? He's a complete moron!" he exclaimed, "He's risked so many of our operations before!"

Sarah glared at him. "Come on, Casey, he's been a major asset to the team too in many missions too," he argued.

"You lovveeee her," Chuck sang in a teasing voice, knowing that either Sarah or Lara would save him from Casey's wrath. At least, that's what he was hoping. "And I was thinking that you wouldn't get another lover after what happened with Ilsa Trinchina."

"That's _it,_ Bartowski!" Casey shouted out angrily, quickly advancing towards him.

"No, Casey!" Sarah yelled, but a moment too late.

As the major through an angry punch towards Chuck, a quick hand grabbed his fist, twisted it behind his back, and pinned him against the table. "NSA Major John Casey, I _told_ you to be nice. So don't go throwing random punches at the first nerd who makes you angry by teasing you about your love life," she scolded, her golden eyes stern, "It only means that you're only admitting it all the more that it's real."

"W-Wow," Chuck breathed, "You can defeat Casey in a fight?"

She looked back up at him, still keeping Casey pinned against the table. "Of course not, I only caught him with his guard down this time," she elaborated, looking back down at her fake boyfriend, "Now, are your emotions more controlled now?"

"Just let me go, damn it!" he yelled furiously.

She let go of his arm. "Fine, fine," she said, crossing her arms, "You're so pushy sometimes, you know that?"

Sarah smirked at Casey, "And you say _Chuck and I_ fight like an old married couple."

"Shut it, Walker," he snapped back.

"I'm afraid you're not as intimidating when Lara's with you," Chuck informed.

Casey glared at Lara. "This is all your fault, Clark," he accused, "You started this."

"Two things," she began, unfazed by his anger, "One: It's actually _your_ fault because _you_ started it. And two: You're still cute when you're mad."

He walked up to her, his face just inches above hers. "And you know what? You're pretty cute when you're _not_ pissing me off!"

She smiled. "Uh huh..." she said sarcastically, "I already _know_ how you feel about me. I remember the exact day in which you told me you loved me."

"What?!" Chuck exclaimed, "Casey proclaimed his love? Like, actually talked about his true feelings for someone he cared about?"

"Can it, Bartowski!" both Casey and Lara scolded irritably.

_Hmm... Maybe they have more in common than I thought_, Chuck thought, shrinking back.

"Sorry, Chuck, but you just really don't want to deal with him when he's irritated and extremely pissed off," Lara told him, "Like he is right now."

_Okay, maybe they don't have that much in common, except for the fact they're government agents assigned to protect me,_ he rethought, _Lara yells at me to tell me not to piss Casey off so he won't kill me. But Casey yells at me because he wants me to shut the hell up. Hmm.... _

"Why do you defend him? You know very well that he deserves a world of hurt!" Casey growled at Lara.

"_Because_ he's the asset, and _we're_ the handlers. We're supposed to _protect_ him, not kill him," she argued, "Save your assassin's training for the Fulcrum agents." She shook her head, looking at her digital watch which was also had an internal communication device. "Well... it's almost lunchtime, so why don't I take you guys out to lunch? My treat," she offered.

"Sure, why not?" Chuck said, "We've got the day off, after all."

A low growl escaped Casey's throat as he glared menacingly at the human Intersect. Lara sighed and then turned to Chuck and Sarah. "Why don't you two meet us upstairs at Orange Orange? We'll join you in a few minutes," she told them.

"Okay, don't take too long alone, you two," Sarah teased, eyes sparkling as she and Chuck took the stairway out of the Castle.

Once they were gone, Casey glared at Lara. "What do you want?" he growled, still irritated.

"You'd better behave yourself at lunch. We don't want you strangling our Intersect," she informed him.

He crossed his arms stubbornly. "So you kept us both here _just_ to tell me that?" he scowled.

She touched his arm and moved closer to him. "Casey..." she said quietly, "I've missed you. I've missed us being together." She closed her eyes and hugged herself against him. "It means a lot to me that we get to work together again," she whispered.

The major was taken aback for a moment before wrapping his arms around her tightly, pressing his cheek against the top of her head. _In truth, I've missed you too. There hasn't been a mission-less night where I haven't been thinking about you and hoping that you were okay,_ he thought, _Oh crap. Did I just really think that?! Maybe I still do have feelings for her. Damn... if I can't keep my feelings and emotions in check, I won't be able to protect that idiot Bartowski. But... I can't let my feelings for Lara just _disappear_. Love doesn't work that way, unfortunately. Maybe_ this _is how Walker and Bartowski feel about _their_ so-called fake relationship._

"Casey, I'm not sure whether you feel the same, but I think I still care for you," Lara mumbled, "Like... I think I still love you."

He took her face into his hands and stared deep into her golden eyes. "I still love you too," he admitted. Then he pressed his mouth against her warm lips, kissing her deeply. Her arms snaked around his neck and pulled him even closer. Casey pinned her against one of the Castle walls and they continued to kiss and make-out passionately.

Suddenly, Lara placed two fingers against his lips as he advanced in for another kiss. "Enough, Casey. We've got to worry and take care of Chuck, remember?" she reminded, sighing in satisfaction, "Our mission comes before each other."

The major sighed in both content and in annoyance. "Right, right. That damn Bartowski," he said, pulling away from her, "Let's go."

Gently, the CIA agent planted a small kiss on his cheek and smiled, grabbing her dark red jacket. "Okay, Chuck and Sarah should be upstairs waiting for us."

"I'm glad that they didn't see us kiss like that. They would never let me live it down," Casey said.

She chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't be so mean."

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Upstairs, Sarah and Chuck were actually watching footage of what was happening down at the Castle. They had seen Casey and Lara kiss and everything. They were using the special TV that was secretly imbedded in the Orange Orange.

"Oh yes we would," both of them said in union, grinning at each other.

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**I hope you liked this chapter of the story! **

**Please, PLEASE REVIEW! (and give me feedback on how I'm doing so far! It really helps me out!)**

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	3. Fulcrum, Flashes, Fights and Flights

**So... here's the next chapter for Chuck Versus the Unrequited Love. There's a little more Charah in this chapter, but A LOT more in the next. And don't forget there's still lots of Lasey (LaraxCasey) lol! haha, anyway, things are a little more dramatic in this chapter, but otherwise... well... yeah. :D.**

**PLEASE R&R! (and thanks to all those reviewers of the previous chapters: **Taliesinjoe, Bianquinha, Siriusly-Celeste, jou-jou86, **and** joe. **THANKS FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEWS! HOPE YOU KEEP 'EM UP!)**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
Claimer: Everything else (c) me**

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Chapter Two: the Four F's: Fulcrum, Flashes, Fights and Flights

Lara took the team to a local restaurant, where the owner came out to greet them right as they entered through the door.

"Lara!" he exclaimed, light blue eyes shining while taking her hand and shaking it furiously before embracing her, earning himself a glare from Casey.

"Mikey!" she said, hugging him back, "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"

"Pretty good," he replied, "It's been a long while since you've visited Burbank. What brings you here?"

She looked around to ensure that none of the other customers were listening before she introduced, "Guys, this is Michael S. Laurent, an associate of mine. Mike, these are my friends Chuck Bartowski and Sarah Walker, and my boyfriend, John Casey."

The blond hair man grinned. "So _this_ was your long-distance boyfriend, huh?" he teased.

"What do you mean by, 'was'?" Chuck asked somewhat panicky. Both he and Sarah immediately tensed, and Sarah's hand twitched for her hidden gun.

Michael laughed heartily. "Well... it's not 'long-distance' anymore because you two are finally together," he explained, "Now come, I'll show you to a table."

The restaurant owner showed them to a private table for four and gave them their menus. "Have a good lunch!" he said cheerfully, before walking away.

"So who _is _he?" Sarah inquired, "I think I've heard of him before, but it doesn't quite ring any bells."

Lara laughed. "Yeah, it _should_ ring a bell. He's a former CIA operative," she informed, "He used to be an associate of mine. Well... he still supplies me with a whole bunch of information when I don't have the resources to do it myself."

"By the way, it sounded like you were growling at him when he hugged her," Chuck teased, grinning ever so slightly.

"Chuck," Sarah warned, "this is the _worse_ time to be teasing Casey."

Casey glared. "Walker's right, Bartowski. It means you should _shut_ your _trap before_ you say something to make me_ kill_ you," he added, slowly letting his anger fade as Lara gripped his hand tightly, "Okay, okay, I'm calm." He looked beside him at his girlfriend with sharp eyes. "Happy now?"

She smiled warmly. "Yes," she answered, giving him a small peck on the lips. Then she whispered, "You have your gun in your back pocket in case Chuck flashes?"

He smiled in return and kissed her once more, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Of course. I assume you do too in _your_ back pocket."

"Actually at the back of my belt," she corrected, "and I still have you as one of my speed-dial contacts on my cell. I figured that there was no point removing it in case we'd end up working together again like we are now."

"I admit it goes the same for you," he replied quietly, "I never deleted it. Love you."

She grinned. "Love you too."

"Um... guys? You're kind spacing out on us. We're here too, you know," Chuck said, waving a hand in front of them.

Both of them immediately looked at them as a waiter came. "Have you made your decision?"

"So what do you guys want? Lunch is on me," Lara inquired.

"Um... I'll take the tomato spaghetti," Chuck said.

Sarah looked at the menu. "I'll take the Aldo Fettuccini with the mushroom sauce," she continued.

"I'm going to take the small steak with the side of the mashed potato," Casey said, "With a side of a small glass of scotch."

Lara sighed, "Always the scotch. Anyway, I'll take the tomato Alfredo."

The waiter wrote the orders down and then asked, "Anything to drink?"

"I'll take a coffee, thanks," Sarah began.

"Make that two coffees," Chuck corrected.

"And I'll take a pot of Jasmine tea," Lara finished, "Thanks."

The waiter took note of it and left, leaving the two couples to talk. There was an awkward silence before Chuck decided to intervene.

"So..." he began slowly, looking at Lara and Casey, "How long have you two known each other?"

"Four or five years," Casey answered, "Our first meeting was in Washington, and then we had to move to a disclosed location for our mission."

"And then you two fell in_ love_, and the whole deal, right?" Chuck teased.

"Yep," Lara said, leaning against Casey's shoulder, and in return, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her closer, "How about you two?"

"Well..." Chuck began, "we met when the-"

Casey kicked him lightly at the same time Sarah elbowed him in the ribs. He tried not to wince in recoil.

"It's a test, you moron," Casey growled, "You're suppose to tell her what we told you to say if anyone asked."

Sarah smiled and kissed Chuck on the cheek. "You know that CIA agents like to test you occasionally so that you're always paying attention so that you won't blow our covers," she whispered.

Chuck wrapped his arm around Sarah's shoulders, hugging her close. "Oh... well, Sarah and I ran into each other one day at the Buy More. She was looking for a digital camera and well... I was the lucky nerd to help her," he explained, a bit more confident on his words now.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Lara commented, "I guess you kind of fell for her along the way then, huh?"

Chuck kissed Sarah gently on the lips. "I guess I did," he agreed.

The waiter came back with their beverages, and also set four teacups beside Lara's pot of tea. "I'll be back with your lunches momentarily," he said.

Lara sighed tiredly as she leaned against Casey, closing her eyes.

"Something wrong, Lara?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"N-No, nothing. I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all. My plane just got here today, I had a rough day yesterday," she told him, pouring herself some tea.

"Do you want to sleep?" Chuck inquired.

She shook her head, forcing an easy smile. "Don't worry, I can catch up on some sleep later. For now I'll just continue doing my job and protect you," she replied.

Sarah laid her head against Chuck's shoulder. "You know Casey and I can do that too, so if you're really_ that_ tired, I'm sure Casey is more than willing to take you back to his apartment," she informed.

"I know," Lara replied, sipping some tea.

The waiter came back and placed each of their orders in front of them. "Here you all go. Don't be afraid to call me if there's anything else you want."

"Thank you," Sarah thanked, and then they began to eat.

The waiter left to go greet six people walking into the restaurant. Chuck looked toward the doorway to see who was coming in. They were led to the table near the window and the door, and luckily _away_ from the group.

Immediately, his memory jogged and he flashed on all six of the people.

"Oh my God! Oh my- guys! Guys!" he gasped quietly, "T-Those six are working for Fulcrum. The blonde one with the scar down his arm is in charge. His name is Jason Wilson and he has a history of arms dealing and an illegal smuggler. W-We've got to do something! That group is completely bad news!"

"Stay _calm,_ Bartowski," Casey said easily, taking a sip of his scotch, "Walker, you get Bartowski safely out of here. Clark and I will take care of this."

"Wait, Casey," Lara began, laying a hand on his arm, "Something's not right here. Fulcrum agents aren't stupid enough to just walk into a restaurant without any reason. Plus, sadly, I've dealt with this guy before, so... well..." she chuckled, using a menu to hide her face from the Fulcrum agents, "Let's just say I've made my mark on him that he'll never forget."

"So what should we do?" Sarah asked quietly.

"For now, let's just keep watch on what they're doing here, but for now, let's just try to leave here without getting caught," she instructed quietly, raising her hand to signal a waiter over. Instead, Michael came over instead.

"Hey guys, you all ready to go? You haven't even finished lunch yet," he said.

"Mike, don't react, but Fulcrum agents are at your 8 o'clock, and I'm on a very important mission," Lara said quietly, pulling out a few bills, "Sorry, but we've _got_ to go. Keep the change."

He shook his head. "Keep it. I was planning to make lunch my treat since I haven't seen you in a while," he replied, forcing a smile, "Fight or flight?"

"Both," Casey replied, "Is there any way we can get the other customers out of here without them causing any problem?"

The blonde looked around. "Well... I know these customers pretty well, they come here regularly, so I _should _be able to get them out without them causing any trouble," he explained, "Plus, there's the back door in case you need another exit. I guess I'll ditch too so I can stay outta your way. Good luck you guys."

About 5 minutes later, all of the other customers had left, and it was only Team Bartowski and the Fulcrum agents.

"Now, Chuck, you and Sarah get out through the back, and things should work out," Lara instructed quietly, laying down her menu and carefully avoiding eye contact with any of the Fulcrum agents, "Sarah, Casey, get your guns ready. This may get dangerous." Her arm snaked behind her back and held onto the handle of her gun.

Sarah and Chuck got out of their chairs quietly, when suddenly, Chuck accidentally made the chair squeak, causing the Fulcrum agents to look over at them. Immediately Jason recognized Lara, who was standing up to draw her weapon, and pulled out a gun, shooting her in the arm, just below her shoulder. Both sides drew their firearms and pointed them at each other, except for Chuck, who didn't _have_ a firearm, and Lara, who had fallen onto the floor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chuck exclaimed, holding his hands up defensively.

"Don't move!" Casey shouted.

"You're outnumbered, so it should be _you_ who shouldn't move," Jason retorted before pointing it at Lara. Then he smirked. "It's good to see you again, Agent _Clark_," he hissed, "I still have that little _souvenir_ that you left me."

"You really planning to shoot me?" Lara hissed, clutching her now-bleeding arm, "Or do you want me to talk?"

"Better yet, you could tell me _where the Intersect is_," he scowled.

She glared at him with furious golden eyes. "Never!" she defied.

"_Don't_ be so cocky, Lara," the Fulcrum agent warned as his men pointed their guns at Casey and Sarah, "Just _tell_ me, and I'll let you go. Maybe I might pitch in your friends too."

"Liar!" she snarled, "I won't tell you _anything_. Even if I _did _tell you, you'd just shoot us all dead right here! At this moment your word is just as good as mine. I'll never tell you _anything_!"

Jason cocked the gun. "Then you're of no further use to me," he declared, pulling the trigger and shooting her twice in the chest.

"Oh my God, he shot her! He shot her!" Chuck exclaimed fearfully as he watched the CIA agent die, her golden eyes fluttering closed. He looked at Casey and saw a spark of pain flash in his eyes before the NSA major returned fire, taking down Jason and one of his men.

Sarah tossed Chuck down behind a table and leaped behind him, firing shots at the Fulcrum agents. Casey had also ducked behind a nearby table and took clear and easy shots at the clearly exposed Fulcrum agents.

Minutes later, it was all over. All the Fulcrum agents were down on the floor, some unconscious, some dead.

"I think we're clear," Sarah announced, looking over at her partner, who gave a silent nod. Then she turned to the asset. "Are you okay Chuck? Are you hurt?"

Chuck said, "Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Shaken, but okay. I'm not hurt." He stood up, and he could not draw his eyes away from the dead CIA agent who had given her life trying to save them. "L-L-Lara..." he breathed.

Sarah looked at him and opened her mouth to say something before she decided not to. She knew it was the first time Chuck had seen a comrade die trying to protect him, and it was not something she wanted him to see again. Instead, she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry that you had to see this Chuck," she whispered.

Casey kneeled down beside his lover and took her into his arms, holstering his gun. "I'm so sorry, Lara. I never wanted this to happen to you," he muttered, trying to keep his emotions in check, "I love you." Gently, he leaned down and kissed her still-warm lips, before lowering his head in respect.

Then Chuck noticed something odd. "She's not bleeding. She's not bleeding!" he exclaimed.

"What are you talking about, Chuck?" Sarah asked, glancing over at Casey.

The NSA agent looked at where Lara was shot, and saw that he was right. The only blood that escaped her was from the shot through her arm. There was no blood on her chest whatsoever. "I think you're on to something, Bartowski," he replied, then began to unbutton her shirt, revealing the black Kevlar vest over a black T-shirt underneath. He pressed his ear against her chest and heard the steady heartbeat. "She's alive," he declared, propping her upright against him, "Force of the bullets must have knocked her out though."

Chuck heaved out a huge breath in relief. "Thank God," he breathed, hugging Sarah tightly in return.

Sarah looked back at Casey. "We'd better get back to the Castle. We can take care of her arm wound there. Hopefully she'll wake up there, or else we might have to take her to the hospital," she said.

A groan escaped Lara's lips and her eyes fluttered partly open. "W-What? Where am I?" she moaned, her eyes then meeting Casey's, "C-Casey? I-Is that you?"

"Yeah, who else?" he retorted, a smile gracing his lips, "It's good to see you alive. I-I almost thought that you-" Then he cut himself off before he got himself too emotional.

"I-Is the Intersect safe? Is Chuck okay?" she inquired in a whisper.

"Yes, the moron's safe. Completely unharmed, in fact. Well... we should get you out of here before the police show up and make things complicated for us. Sarah and I will get the backup teams here so that they can clear things up for us," he explained, lifting her into his muscular arms.

"Casey, you don't have to carry me," Lara said quietly, her head against his shoulder, "I-I think I can walk."

"Hell no. You're hurt, bleeding, and maybe you could have fractures in some of your ribs as a result of the gunshot impacts," he retorted sternly, "I'm carrying you, whether you like it or not. I don't like seeing you get hurt. You really gave us all one hell of a scare. We actually thought you were dead."

"Yeah!" Chuck emphasized, "A-And we thought that you were dead! And we thought that we'd lost you! And we thought that we'd never hear you say to Casey 'I love you' again!"

Casey growled and glared at Chuck. "Can. It. Bartowski." He snapped.

Sarah ripped a piece of cloth off of Lara's sweater and began to bandage the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "How did you end up having a Kevlar vest on?" she asked her fellow CIA agent.

"I always have my Kevlar vest on the first day on the job. It's something I do when I need to get used to my surroundings," she explained.

"It's a good thing too," Chuck added, "If you didn't have it you'd be dead. And Casey would immediately break Jason's neck if he was still alive."

Lara smiled and closed her eyes, resting her head against Casey's shoulder, her head dizzy from the loss of blood. "I love you, Casey," she whispered.

"I love you too, Lara," he muttered back quietly, kissing her gently on the forehead. Then he looked at Sarah and Chuck and said, "Come on guys. Let's go. The car's parked around front."

Swiftly and quickly, they exited the ruined restaurant and went to the car. Sarah drove them back to headquarters as Chuck sat beside her, somewhat anxious. He was twiddling his thumbs around nervously. Casey sat with Lara at the back where he held her tightly against him while keeping a light amount of pressure on her arm. He knew very well that she was losing too much blood.

_Well... let's just hope that those surviving Fulcrum agents don't go and get back-up, and especially if that damn Jason is still alive, I'm afraid that both Chuck _and _Lara would end up becoming major asset,_ Casey thought grimly, gripping Lara tightly against him, _And if I was forced to save only_ one _of them, I'm afraid that it would have to be Chuck. Damn that Bartowski and him being the Intersect at all. If I was forced to save one between the two... I'd end up letting my girlfriend_ die_... and it would be all...my...fault...._

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**Wow... poor Casey's becoming a worry-wart. Well, at least he means well, not to mention he's NOT THINKING OF WAYS ON HOW TO STRANGLE CHUCK (-Chuck chuckles nervously here-) hmm... well... just wait till you see Chuck in the next chapter, THEN you'll see who's the REAL worry-wart. lol. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! MUCH APPRECIATED!**

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	4. Love at the Castle

**Here's the next chapter for those who enjoy this story! I know I do! Yay! -cheers- I know this chapter is shorter than the others but longer than the prologue, but there's a LOT of fluff in here. BOTH Lasey AND Charah. YAY FLUFFY FLUFF! **

**PLEASE R&R! (I really need the feedback so I know what to add/and or take out. Suggestions are also appreciated, though I already have a definite storyline in mind.)**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak.  
Claimer: Everything else (c) me**

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Chapter Three: Love at the Castle

They drove right up to the front door of Orange Orange, and luckily, there was no one nearby to watch Casey carry his wounded girlfriend into the building and down into the Castle.

"Is she going to be alright?" Chuck asked, still a bit panicky.

Casey gently laid her onto a stretcher inside the mini medical room. He proceeded to get the bandages and removed his leather jacket, snapping on latex gloves. "Of course, Bartowski," he replied.

Sarah also snapped on a pair of latex gloves and got a few pieces of cloth. Then she began to remove the 'bandage' that she had wrapped on in the restaurant. Immediately after she removed them she pressed the pieces of cloth against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Chuck, pass over the box with the needle and string," she ordered, "It seems the bullet went right through her arm so we don't have to worry about trying to remove it."

"W-What?" the Intersect breathed, "N-Needle and S-String?"

"What the hell do _you_ think, Bartowski?" Casey hissed, "We need to stitch up this wound before we bandage it."

Sarah removed the bloodied cloth to further inspect the wound. "I don't think the bullet hit anything important, except just rip through flesh. But we need a professional doctor to be sure. There's no way we are getting Ellie or Devon, we have no way to explain it to them," she said as Chuck nervously handed her the small box, "Chuck, you should get out of this room. You look a bit queasy."

"Is there anyone from the NSA or the CIA who's a doctor that can help us?" Chuck asked, wanting to be useful, "I-I can call the General."

Casey looked at Sarah. "Do you got this?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Yes, go."

He worked off his gloves and walked out of the room, grabbing Chuck by the collar and half-dragging him. "Come on, Bartowski. We're calling Command."

They went to the Briefing room with the large TV and Casey quickly turned on the uplink, and the General's picture came onto the screen. "Is there something you need, Major Casey?" she asked. Then she noticed that Sarah and Lara were missing. "Where are Agents Walker and Clark?"

Casey hesitated a moment before beginning. "Agent Clark has been shot, and Agent Walker is tending to her," he announced.

"Explain yourself, Major," she ordered, her face hard.

"The four of us were going to lunch, and these Fulcrum agents walked into the restaurant," Chuck explained.

"One of the agents, Jason Wilson, apparently had a previous encounter with Agent Clark, and our situation was compromised, and he shot her in the arm," Casey continued, "He demanded from her the location of the Intersect, in which when she refused, and he shot her twice in the chest. I am pleased to inform you though that Agent Clark was wearing a bulletproof vest at this time, but had lost a large amount of blood from the arm wound."

"Casey and Sarah then had a shoot-off with the Fulcrum agents, and none of us were hit. All of the enemy agents were taken down," Chuck added.

General Beckman nodded approvingly before turning to her top NSA field agent. "Major, I suspect that your personal feelings for Agent Clark did not compromise your duty," she said.

He nodded. "Of course. Our relationship is strictly professional when protecting Bartowski," he replied smoothly, his eyes not betraying his true emotions.

"Very good. In any case, good job you two. Send my regards to Agent Walker and Clark. Tell Agent Clark that I appreciate and recognize her efforts in ensuring the safety of the Intersect. I'll see what detail I can find on the Fulcrum agents and report back to me if anything else happens. Are we clear?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am!" they both exclaimed, and the communication ended.

Sarah walked over to the two while removing her bloodied latex gloves. She sighed in exhaustion, but Casey and Chuck took the sigh as something else.

"Is she okay?" Chuck inquired.

The CIA agent looked over at her partner, the NSA agent. "Casey, she wants to see you right now. Don't take too long, she needs to rest. She's lost a lot of blood," she told him quietly, "I don't think that her ribs are damaged, but we'd need a professional doctor to be sure."

He gave her a single nod and quickly made his way back to the medical room. He saw his lover's body lying on the stretcher white bandages wrapped tightly around her arm as her hands rested on her stomach. Her former red blouse had been taken off and now she only had her black T-shirt and her equally black slacks. "Lara?" he asked quietly, "Are you awake?"

She looked at him with tired, golden eyes. "Casey?" she muttered, "W-What did the General say?" She tried to sit up slowly.

He put a hand on her back, easing her up. "Take it easy. You need to rest. You're still hurt," he told her.

She swung her legs over the side of the stretcher and sat up. Casey sat next to her and let her lean against him. Her head rested against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. "Yeah, well Sarah gave me a very small dose of painkillers with a mix of a sleeping draft, so I think I'll be resting pretty easy," she commented, "I admit that it _really_ helps to distract from the pain, but I think my left arm will be weak for a while. Good thing I shoot with my right arm."

"Lara, you should take it easy for a while until your arm heals a bit more. Anyway, the General said that we did a good job. And she recognizes and appreciates your efforts on trying to save Chuck's life," he told her.

"Hmm... I'd say that's pretty good for a day's work," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'd say it's _more_ than a day's work," Casey corrected, "I got _you_ back in my life." Then he turned her towards him and kissed her passionately, snaking his arms around her waist. She put one hand on the back of his head, pulling him closer, while her other hand rested against his chest.

"I love you," Lara whispered, her forehead resting against Casey's, her eyes closed.

"I love you so damn much too," he muttered back, pulling out her hair tie before continuing their little make-out session.

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Back at the Briefing Room, Chuck was pacing around anxiously.

"Chuck, don't worry about Lara, she's going to be alright," Sarah assured, "and Casey wouldn't let anything happen to her. He cares for her too much, even though he doesn't want to admit it."

"I know! I _know_!" he exclaimed panicky, "I'm sorry! I just can't_ help_ it! I just- I just- I just- Argh!" His hands grabbed and yanked at his hair in frustration.

"Chuck! Chuck! _Calm down_!" Sarah exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders, "Now, why are you in a panicky mood? It's not like anything _really super bad_ happened, like one of us died."

"After seeing what happened to Lara, it makes me realize what might happen to you while you're assigned to protect me. And now I'm worried," he admitted, "After hearing that you might have been replaced by that other, really scary agent, I-I don't want to lose you again. Especially _permanently_ too."

"Awww... that's really sweet of you Chuck," Sarah said, "But I can take care of myself."

"It's not that I doubt your skills, it's just that I don't want to even_ risk_ it. I fully understand that you have to protect me and everything because I'm the Intersect, but I can't help but worry about what might happen to _you_ if you try to save me," he elaborated, "And if that happens, I don't know what I'd do without you. I know Casey and Lara will still be here and all, but it won't be the same without _you_."

"Chuck," Sarah said, placing two fingers over his lips, silencing him, "You don't have to worry about me. Look, I know you care for me, and I feel the same."

"Really?" he asked in a suddenly small voice.

She smiled. "Really," she stated.

He looked at her for a moment before pulling her close against him and kissing her passionately. She pulled him even closer and kissed back just as passionately.

"I love you Sarah," Chuck gasped as they continued to kiss.

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**YAY! GO LASEY AND CHARAH!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you compare how much Casey "freaks out" in the last chapter compared to Chuck in THIS chapter, then you will see that Chuck's freaking out is a LOT worse than Casey's. I hope this didn't put Chuck out of character, but I think that's something that he would do. He's a good person.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and if you do, thank you in advance!)**


	5. Tonight's Plans

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So here's the next chapter for Chuck Versus the Unrequited Love! I hope you like it! More Lasey fluff and little Charah flirts, especially what with the Bartowski Eyebrow Dance. hahahaha.

**Anyway, PLEASE R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak.  
Claimer: Anything else (c) me**

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Chapter Four: Tonight's Plans

After both couples finished their make-out sessions, Casey assisted Lara back down to the Briefing Room. Now her hair was neatly down and in slight waves after Casey removed the hair tie previously.

"Hey Chuck," she greeted, her arm thrown over Casey's shoulder as he kept her from stumbling and falling by keeping his hand on her waist.

"Lara!" the Intersect exclaimed, running over and tackle-hugging her, "Oh my God, you're alright! I thought you had died!"

She whimpered softly in pain as his hug affected her injured arm. But she was trying to hold back a loud groan.

"Bartowski, you're hurting her," Casey growled into the nerd's ear.

He let go immediately. "I am so sorry," he apologized quickly, "I was just so worried about you. Before I thought you were dead and then you were injured and then-"

Sarah dragged him back by the arm, causing him to stop his rambling. "I'm sorry, but Chuck's just kinda in shock right now. He's been freaking out like hell the past 10 minutes," she explained.

"Five actually, if you don't count the other five minutes of making out," Chuck admitted unintentionally. Then he looked up and saw Casey and Lara grinning. "D-Did I just say that out loud?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yes you did, Bartowski," Casey confirmed, "Yes you did."

Sarah rolled her eyes and scoffed. She knew the major enjoyed teasing them constantly about their fake relationship.

"W-Well... why did it take _you two_ so long to get here?!" Chuck defended, "I bet you two were making out too!"

Lara scoffed. "Of course. What else could we have been doing in there?" she retorted, making both Sarah and Chuck grin at them.

"Lara..." Casey began in a growl, "You weren't supposed to tell him that!"

She rolled her eyes and looked at him. "Why would they care? They already know that I love you and you love me. We're cool, there are no secrets about that!" She defended, "Chuck, do you mind not being so defensive about you and Sarah's 'fake' relationship? We're all on the same team here, you know."

"Yeah, well, it's not my fault Casey teases us all the time," he replied.

Lara looked over at her boyfriend. "Casey..." she began in a warning tone, "is that true?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Oh hell yes," he said, "I love teasing them and watching Bartowski blush. But do you know what I love even more?"

She smiled, knowing that he was baiting her, but she was more than willing to play into his game. She leaned closer toward him. "What?" she asked.

Casey pressed his lips tightly against hers, kissing her deeply. When he pulled away, he gazed deep into her golden eyes. "You," he replied.

"Oh that was just plain cheesy," Chuck sighed, crossing his arms, "And I thought you were supposed to be professional too. The scary and 'supposedly' professional NSA agent John Casey."

"Um, Chuck?" Sarah said somewhat awkwardly, "Casey being cheesy _is_ rather professional, even though it may not seem to be his style."

"Whose side are you on?!" he exclaimed, feeling a little ganged-up on.

Casey felt his CIA girlfriend began to collapse against him and he held her up. He saw her eyes flutter as she fought to stay conscious. "Lara? Lara!" he exclaimed, shaking her gently, "Stay awake with me, okay?"

Her hand flew to her forehead as she pressed lightly on her temples. "C-Can we head to the apartment now? I-I feel kinda weak," she told him quietly.

The NSA agent turned to Chuck and Sarah. "I'm going to take Agent Clark back to the apartment. She needs to rest before she passes out on the floor. Walker, you're taking charge of Bartowski for the rest of the day. I'll stay with Lara and make sure she heals well," he instructed, "Don't leave him outta your sight. Ring me if you there's trouble." Then he lifted her into his arms and held her close as she began to fall asleep.

"Yeah, Casey, I can handle it," Sarah assured.

"Good. Take good care of him or else we're both off the job," he stated before leaving the Castle. Then he took her to the car and buckled her in before climbing into the driver's seat.

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When they arrived back at the set of apartments, Casey carried her to his front door, glancing around warily to ensure that no one saw them. Then he opened the door and carried her in. Her suitcases were already inside, and Casey seemed unsurprised by this. He carried her to the bedroom in which he had set up for her the day before, and laid her onto the bed.

A tired yet comfortable sigh escaped her lips, and she half-opened her eyes. "Casey? You mind staying with me?" she requested, her voice quiet, "I don't really want to sleep alone, nor wake up alone."

Casey smiled and climbed on top of her, kissing her. Then he flipped her over so that her head was lying on his chest. He kept one arm on the back of her waist, while the other was on her head. He reached down and pulled the blankets over the both of them. Her hand rested gently on his chest and the other on the bed.

"Lara?" the major said quietly, taking his hand off her head and putting it behind his as he looked up at the ceiling, "You asleep yet?"

"I was just getting there before you spoke. What? Is something bothering you?" she replied, not bothering to look at him.

"Nah. Well... Command told me that you'd only be on the assignment of protecting the asset temporarily, unless you wanted the permanent position," he began, "So... does it mean you might leave again?"

She raised her head and looked at him. "Unless I'm called off for an important mission, I'll stay as long as you want me to. Either that or if the asset wants me to stay. Things will work smoother that way."

"Fine, fine," he gave in, a little_ too_ easily, grinning, "Then I'll _make_ Bartowski want you on the mission. I know_ I _would want you. I _definitely_ want you to stay with me."

"I know you do," she retorted, "But we need to keep our relationship strictly professional. We've got to protect Chuck."

"Why does it always lead to that damn Bartowski?" he growled, "Why can't it just be about _us_? Aren't_ we_ important too?"

She chuckled, "Because _he's_ the reason why we're back together again. I wouldn't be here in Burbank if it wasn't for _him_. So stop sounding jealous. But if you _really _want to talk about _us_, I love you."

He looked away. "Oh no, that's not going to work on me anymore," he said, still a bit grumpy.

She smiled and pulled herself closer up to him, her face hovering over his now. Her eyes met his and he saw the deep truth in them.

"Okay, fine. I concede defeat," he admitted gruffly.

She smiled. "I know," she whispered. Then she proceeded to kiss him, in which he pulled her closer and they made out for a moment before she collapsed against him, already asleep.

"Wow," Casey noted quietly, "Just _how_ much sleeping draft did she give you?" He decided not to move her in case she woke up, and eventually fell asleep to their hearts' beat in synchronization.

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"Chuck, you're not freaking out anymore, right?" Sarah asked the now-quiet Intersect.

He exhaled deeply. "No, Sarah, I'm not. I'm fine now," he replied, "I _am_, however, still a little shaken by what's happened already."

"Chuck aren't you always nervous?" she inquired.

He blinked and said. "Not _always_," he said, "Only when you're about to risk your life for me." Then suddenly, his phone rang. When he looked, he saw Morgan's face on the screen. "Morgan? What do you want?" he asked, putting it on speakerphone.

"Dude!" his best friend exclaimed, "Guess what?! You've been declared the host of a talent competition later on tonight!"

"What?!" Chuck exclaimed, "You're not serious! How did I even become the host? I didn't sign up for anything."

"Oh, well Big Mike got this request thing it said to send you in. The only condition is that you won't be getting your paycheque next month. Anyway, guess what else?! You're presenting the winner of the contest ten _thousand_ dollars!" he added, "It's at the opera house. It starts at 7 and ends at 11, but you need to be there by 6:30 for all your prep. Plus, you're getting paid 500 bucks for it too! Good luck and have fun! Jeff, Lester and I will be there to cheer you on." Then he hung up.

The Intersect looked at the clock. "It's only two. I have _lots_ of time to prepare I guess," he muttered to himself.

"Hmm.. seems kinda suspicious," Sarah thought out loud, "Casey, Lara and I will come with you and make sure everything runs smoothly and according to plan."

"Do you think Lara will be okay by tonight though?" Chuck inquired.

"She_ should _be okay. I didn't give her a lot of the sleeping draft in case something should happen. Plus, if she sleeps too long, Casey would be worried," she replied, "Not to mention freak out and probably call the General to send one of the doctors."

"So I have the rest of the day off, and Casey told us not to get into any trouble and to stick together. What do you want to do?" he inquired, "Maybe go on a date?" He was doing his infamous 'Bartowski Eyebrow Dance' now.

She laughed. "Sorry Chuck, maybe tomorrow or something. I really don't have anything specific in mind. For now, let's just stay in the Castle and try and dig up some information about this 'Talent Contest'," she answered.

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Three hours later, Chuck and Sarah called Casey's phone to alert him of the new miniature assignment.

Lara's eyes fluttered open as she heard a few beeps of a phone. She found herself resting against Casey's side, his arm draped over her. She felt a whole _lot_ better than she had three hours ago. She stretched out her arms and winced slightly as she felt a small spark of pain in her left arm. She looked at her 'boyfriend' and smiled. He was also stirring awake from the beeping of the phone. He reached over the bedside and picked up his phone, answering it and putting it on loudspeaker.

"Walker? What is it?" he breathed a bit tiredly.

"Did you just wake up from a nap, Casey?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, he was just accompanying me," Lara answered, "I was just really tired, an obvious effect of the sleeping draft. Anyway, what's up? A problem with Chuck?"

"Not exactly," she replied, "Chuck's going to be a host for this sudden Talent Competition held at the Opera House. The organizer is James Wilson, the just-so-happen-to-still-be-alive-Jason-Wilson's older brother. The competition starts at 7 and ends at 11. There are 12 contestants and 4 rounds. The winner will be announced by the host, which is Chuck. Chuck has to be there by at least 6:30 though."

Casey sat up in surprise. "How do you know Jason's alive?" he demanded.

"When the NSA and CIA agents arrived at the scene, they found three of the Fulcrum Agent's bodies missing out of the six. One of them was Jason's. Apparently Fulcrum sent a cleanup crew to the restaurant to clean up their tracks. They left the dead. They left shortly before our own agents arrived," the CIA agent replied, "I have a bad feeling that Jason might have been conscious after the gun fight was done."

"No way! I shot him at point blank!" Casey exclaimed.

Lara gasped, "But that means he knows that Chuck is the Intersect! Not to mention that he knows I'm alive. We can't let Chuck go, its suicide."

"But it's the only way that we can capture them," Chuck argued, "Hopefully they haven't reported back to their boss that I'm the one they're looking for."

"They haven't," Lara said positively, "Knowing Jason, he would _definitely_ not report that he lost to the same CIA agent twice. He made that promise to me the last time I defeated him. Luckily for me, his older brother is more merciful and fair. He'll give us more of a chance." Then she smiled at Casey before looking back at the phone. "I take it we're all going undercover," she said.

"I'll probably be a bodyguard or something," Casey growled, rolling his eyes.

"I'll try and be a part of the stage crew or something, as long as I have backstage access," Sarah added.

"And _I'll _be one of the contestants," Lara announced, "I can keep an eye on the other contestants to make sure that they might not be potential targets of Fulcrum, not to mention keep an eye out for them if they actually _are_ Fulcrum agents.."

"Wait, what are you going to do though?" Chuck asked, "I'm not saying that you don't have talent or anything, I'm just curious."

"I am going to sing," she replied, "And don't worry about me. I know that James won't allow Jason to kill me. Two reasons: One; it would blow Fulcrum's cover and they cannot have any hope of obtaining Chuck. And two; James kinda likes me. As in, like, _like_ me."

"Ooh... Casey, you must be jealous," Chuck teased.

"If I was there Bartowski, you'd be _dead_," the NSA agent threatened.

"Can you sing very well? We need you in the top three finals," Sarah inquired Lara curiously.

Casey's eyes widened. "Sing? Yeah, no problem. She has one killer voice," he added, "I'm sure that with her looks _and_ her voice, she'll make it in the top three for sure."

"Thanks, Casey," she replied, "That's sweet of you." Then she pulled out her flip phone and dialled the number of the Opera House, as she read from the phone book. "Hello, my name is Lara Clark and I would like to take part of the Talent Competition held tonight at 7 by James Wilson. Who is this?" For a moment she paused and said, "Oh! It's so good to hear from you again. Really? You can do that? Awesome, thank you!" Then she hung up and looked at Casey. "Great news! An old friend of mine, Jacob, was the one who picked up the phone, and he said he can guarantee my position as one of the 12 contestants! So we're definitely in."

"Good, we'll all meet here at the base by 6:15 before proceeding to the Opera House," Sarah instructed, "Until then, I guess its best we all get ready. Lara, I hope you got four songs in mind that will 'wow' the judges. Casey will give you feedback and assist you."

"And I got the perfect outfits too!" Lara exclaimed, "Okay, we'll see you two later."

Both sides hung up their phones.

Lara sighed, "Great, so we're going to a Talent Competition brought to us by Fulcrum agents. And there's a _huge_ chance that this is a trap for Chuck that we're just _walking into_. Is there something I see wrong here?"

"Nothing wrong, and what are you sighing for?" Casey asked, a smug grin on his face, "This is gonna be fun."

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**Hahaha, I'm sure it is, Casey, I'm sure it is. lol.**

**Well... I hope you've liked this chapter of the story. More coming... eventually. :D**

**BARTOWSKI EYEBROW DANCE ATTACK! lol, Sarah resisted though... darn.... hmmm...**

**Please Review!!!!**

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	6. Round One in Fulcrum Territory

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So... this is my longest chapter yet, not to mention updating at 12:47 in the morning. lol. well... not much to say, except that I may not be able to update for a bit.

Hope you like this chapter!

**PLEASE R&R! (Reviews would be helpful for me! -hint, hint, nudge, nudge- PLEASE AND MAJOR THANK YOU!)**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
: Never Had A Dream Come True (c) S Club 7  
Claimer: Everything else (c) me**

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Chapter Five: Round One in Fulcrum Territory

Casey tapped his foot impatiently as he looked at his watch. Lara was changing into the first of her four evening dresses in the bathroom. "Are you ready yet, Clark? It's almost 6," he called, fixing his red tie on his black suit.

The door opened and Lara stepped out wearing a floor-length sparkling red dress. It was short-sleeved and had a low V-neck cut. There was a slit on the left side of her dress that reached her mid-thigh, and Casey couldn't take his eyes off her. Her hair flowed down her back in waves and her lips were a rosy red from her lipstick. Her bandages around her arm wound were hardly noticeable because the colour blended into her skin.

"You're looking pretty sexy tonight," the major commented, his hand on her waist affectionately.

She smiled. "Thank you. You're looking pretty handsome yourself," she replied.

He kissed her very softly and she pressed something into his hand. "Help me put it on?" she requested.

"Of course," he replied, and she turned around and lifted her hair away as Casey hooked the necklace together around her neck. She turned around and now a golden heart pendant hung from the gold chain around her neck.

"Thank you," she said, a smile gracing her lips.

"No problem, you still armed though?" he asked.

She pulled up the right side of her dress a bit, revealing the gun she had against her leg. "Yep. Let's do this." She slipped on her black jacket and grabbed her small black purse, slipping into shiny red shoes. "I'm ready," she announced, "The rest of my wardrobe for the night has been sent to the Opera House already, I've got my gun, my earpiece, _and_ that little communications device clip thing too. Anything else you need?"

He shook his head. "I'm armed and ready to go," he replied confidently, "Come on. Let's head out to base, Bartowski and Walker should be waiting for us there."

"But doesn't Chuck live right next to you?" Lara inquired, "That's what I was told, and read. With his sister Ellie and he live-in boyfriend Devon, wasn't it."

"Yeah, but he's with Walker, who _doesn`t_ live in these apartments," he explained.

She chuckled, "Right, right. Let's get going, we're going to be late for the meeting." Then she opened the door and walked out, Casey right on her heels, closing the door behind him.

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When they arrived at the Castle, Chuck gasped at Lara's outfit.

"W-Wow," he breathed, "You look absolutely beautiful."

Casey pat him on the back. "Careful, lover boy, that's my girl you're talking about," he warned in a somewhat teasing tone, yet with more than a hint of warning.

"Hey, are we ready to go?" Sarah asked, walking into the room, "Wow, Lara, you look great!"

"Thanks Sarah, you all ready to go?" she replied.

She pulled out two guns hidden from behind her, making Lara and Casey grin and Chuck's mouth drop open in shock as his eyes widened.

Sarah grinned at the nerd. "What? I'm _just_ being professional," she defended.

Casey scoffed, rolling his eyes, "As if I hadn't heard _that_ before."

Chuck looked at the NSA agent. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to go with Casey on that one," he agreed reluctantly. Then he turned to Sarah, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. "But I love you anyway," he said, kissing her deeply.

Sarah kissed back passionately, her arms wrapping around his neck.

Casey whistled, grinning at the two. _I knew you two would give up your act eventually,_ he thought, _At least I don't have to make my and Lara's relationship a secret, even _General Beckman_ knows of our relationship. Only she thinks that my feelings are strictly professional. Good think we only reveal those feelings under the radar. _

Lara looked at the watch and looked back at the still-kissing couple, who was, completely ignoring the fact that she and Casey were there. "Um, sorry to interrupt your little make-out there, but we've got to go or else Chuck and I are going to be late," she said awkwardly.

The two broke apart and cleared their throats.

"Um, right, let's go," Sarah stated, "W-We were just _practicing_ in case something came up that involved us two being together."

Both Casey and Lara rolled their eyes.

"Uh huh... and I'm the President of the United States," Lara retorted sarcastically, "There was a lot of chemistry just now between you two. Casey and I could have sworn that we no longer existed to you."

Sarah ignored her comment and said, "Okay, so Chuck and I have spoken to the General, and she pretty much guarantees that we're most likely walking into a trap. She says that we should all be careful, and to never let our guard down. There's going to be back-up just a few buildings away so that we can ensure Chuck's secret and safety. For all we know every single person in that opera house could be working for Fulcrum."

Chuck tapped his head and smiled. "Well if they _are_, we'll all know about it," he commented before his smile dropped slightly, "I'm going to have a huge headache after this, I bet."

"My _throat's_ going to hurt after tonight," Lara added, mentally chuckling.

"Come on," Casey insisted, "Let's go before you two are late and we don't want to raise suspicions."

"Casey's right," Sarah agreed, "There's a lot on the line here. Let's head out."

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When they arrived inside the Opera House, Chuck already began to have a whole bunch of flashes, making his head hurt slightly. He was taken backstage to review over his lines and make sure everything was set. Sarah went backstage with him to go talk with the rest of the stage crew. Casey went with security to make sure everything ran smoothly while Lara was escorted to the dressing rooms to get her final preparations done.

Chuck was reading through the script and looked back at the undercover Fulcrum agent named Leah Ronalds. She had shoulder-length blonde hair, and was wearing a short, tight, strapless black dress. Sure, she was attractive, but there was a distinct sense of danger about this woman. Chuck had already seen a flash on her too, confirming his accusations. "I think I can pull this off, Ms. Ronalds," he said.

She smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Mr. Bartowski, I'm sure you'll do fine," she replied, "Now go out there and do your best." She handed him the microphone and pushed him in front of the red curtains and the bright spotlight shone on him.

"Uh..." Chuck began nervously.

"Don't worry, Chuck," Sarah reassured through his secret earpiece, "I won't let Fulcrum harm you."

"I'm clear here, Walker," Casey added, "There's no sign of any Fulcrum activities yet. But keep your eyes open you two. We have no idea what might be going on here. I'm at the back of the hall, and I have a clear view of the stage."

The Intersect cleared his throat and began again. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Burbank Talent Competition sponsored by James Wilson, who just _happens_ to be one of our three judges for tonight. So let's give him a round of applause, please, Mr. James Wilson!" he announced.

The spotlight turned to a black-suited man in about his mid-30's sitting in the middle of the judges' panel table. He had short, black hair, luminous grey eyes and a smile on his slender face. He appeared to be a tall and otherwise harmless man, but a quick flash through Chuck's mind showed to be different. The 'harmless' man that appeared to be was actually one of Fulcrum's best secret operatives. He had a history of illegal trafficking, murder, stole illegal research and information. In his flash he also saw the previous encounter Lara had with him, with the little video tape footage from one of Fulcrum's databases.

_This guy is totally bad news,_ Chuck thought, _let's just hope things continue to run smoothly tonight._ "Let's welcome our first contestant, Miss Erica Stanford, who will be playing _her_ ballad version of 'Claire de Lune" on the harp," he announced, walking off stage as the curtains parted at the same time he walked off stage.

Leah Ronalds skipped over to him, a wide grin on her face. "That was excellent, Mr. Bartowski! I knew you could do it! Now just keep this up for the rest of the night and I'm sure that you'll do fine," she assured, "Now, I'll let you keep on your own until Miss Stanford finishes her song. I'll go get the next contestant," she explained, looking at her clipboard, "Miss Lara Clark."

_Oh no... Lara,_ Chuck thought, _I hope you're careful._ "Okay, thanks," he replied, and as she left, he talked into his watch, walking into a more private corner, "S-Sarah! Casey! Leah Ronalds, Fulcrum agent, is going to go get Lara. Do you guys think she'll need some help if this Fulcrum agent attacks her?"

Casey cautiously looked around before he spoke back into his own watch. "I'm sure that Miss Clark can take care of herself," he replied quietly.

"John's right," Sarah added, "I know Lara will be able to take care of herself. By the way, nice introductory speech just now, I'm sure you'll have a lot more to say later on."

"Oh, and _by the way_," Casey chimed in, his voice a low growl, "your friends Twiddle Dumb and Twiddle Dumber and Dumbest are here. Morgan, Lester and Jeff, wasn't it?"

Chuck groaned, "Great, complications. I _hate_ complications."

"As long as they're out of danger, I'm sure they'll be fine," Sarah reassured.

"Bartowski, you're on in three," a stage worker informed him as he walked by.

"Okay, thanks," he replied, trying to be smooth.

From afar, he saw Lara began to walk up to him, smiling in her dazzling red dress. "Hey Chuck," she greeted warmly, "I heard you did pretty well so far in your hosting skills."

"Hey, Lara, hey, uh, thanks. I almost thought that something terrible had happened to you. Most of these guys are _all_ Fulcrum agents," he spluttered quietly.

She chuckled quietly. "Its okay, Chuck," she assured, "I'm fine, and Sarah, Casey and I won't let anything bad happen to you. We're here to protect you, and that's what we're going to do." Then they both heard the audience clap outside after the judges commented on the performance. The CIA agent turned back to him. "You're on, Chuck," she told him, pushing him forward before leaving to her own position.

Chuck returned back on stage, microphone in hand and a forced smile on his face. Below in the audience he could see Morgan wave to him and beside him sat Jeff and Lester. "Thanks Erica, for that wonderful rendition of 'Claire de Lune'. Judges, I hope that you've all written down your scores and comments. Each contestant will be marked out of 10, and the three contestants with the lowest scores will be eliminated from the competition," he explained, forcing enthusiasm into his voice. "Now, please help me give a warm welcome to our next contestant, singing 'Never Had a Dream Come True', Miss Lara Clark!"

"Lara Clark?" Morgan, Jeff and Lester breathed.

"Isn't that the name of John Casey's girlfriend?" Jeff asked, "The scary guy working at the Buy More?"

"And that hot girl that we saw just this morning?" Lester added.

As the large curtains parted, Lara stepped out with her microphone in hand and a beautiful smile on her face.

"Oh my God," the three guys breathed.

_"Ooh..._

_Everybody's got something, they have to leave behind,_

_One regret from yesterday, that just seems to grow with time,_

_There's no use looking back or wondering,_

_How it could be now or neither been,_

_All this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go."_

_Casey was right,_ Chuck thought, _She really can sing. Hmm, getting her into the top 3 may be easier than I thought._

"I-Is that _really_ Lara? Is that _really_ John's _girlfriend_ Lara?" Lester inquired.

Lester's eyes were wide in shock. "I honestly hope not. I hope she's single," he retorted.

In the back, Casey grinned widely, not taking his eyes off the undercover CIA agent. _That's my girl,_ he thought smugly.

Sarah was also watching from backstage. _Wow, Lara is a lot better than I had expected. There's a very good chance that she'll make it into the top 3, if my thoughts are correct. James_ should_ still have feelings towards her, and if those two beside him are also Fulcrum agents that work for him, he'll definitely make sure that she gets to the top 3, or even win this competition._ She looked around precariously and watched as several suspicious-looking stage crew members walked off backstage. "Hmm..." she hummed quietly to herself.

"_I never had a dream come true,_

_Till the day that I found you,_

_Even though I pretend that I've moved on,_

_You'll always be my baby,_

_I never found the words to say,_

_You're the one I think about each day,_

_And I know no matter when love takes me to,_

_A part of me will always be."_

Hidden within the shadows of a higher watching platform, an evil smile crossed Jason Wilson's face as he watched the undercover CIA agent perform. "You're lucky that you were wearing a bullet-proof vest this morning," he muttered, "You may have earned the love of my brother, but I have nothing but _hatred _towards you!" He scoffed, "_This_ time, your little boyfriend won't be here to save you."

_"You'll always be the dream that fills my head,_

_(Yes you will, say you will, I know you will, oh baby)_

_You'll always be the one I know I'll never forget_

_There's no use looking back or wondering,_

_Because love is a strange and funny thing,_

_No matter how I try and try _

_I just can't say goodbye_

_No, no, no, no_

_I never had a dream come true,_

_Till the day that I found you,_

_Even though I pretend that I've moved on,_

_You'll always be my baby,_

_I never found the words to say,_

_You're the one I think about each day,_

_And I know no matter when love takes me to,_

_A part of me will always be_

_A part of me will always be, with you...."_

Loud clapping immediately followed, and she curtsied politely. She watched as the three judges wrote down their scores before James Wilson began to speak.

"Bravo, Miss Clark. That was a spectacular performance. I daresay I could almost _kill _for you to sing it again," he commented, Lara taking note of the dangerous grin on his face, "You will _definitely _be one to keep an eye out for."

"Um... thanks," she replied, feeling her inner reserve begin to crumble. She saw something in his grey eyes; attraction, lust, amusement, but most of all, _revenge_. She began to walk off stage and felt something was wrong. Her breath stilled for a moment in her throat as she placed a hand against the wall to lean for support. She turned off her microphone and set it down on a table.

"Good job, Lara, that was great," Sarah's voice said into her ear from the hidden earpiece.

"That was excellent work," Casey chimed in, "I'm sure you'll get in the final 3 for sure."

Lara spoke quietly into her hidden communicator clipped onto her dress. "S-S-Something's wrong," she mumbled, "I-I c-can't b-breathe." Then her body slipped to the floor and a loud plop was heard through Chuck, Casey and Sarah's earpieces, though her actually collapse was pretty quiet.

"Lara? Lara?! Lara!" Casey hissed into his watch. _Damn,_ he thought, _Must have passed out. Something must be wrong._ "Walker, can you get to her?" he asked, knowing he couldn't leave without risking blowing his cover.

"I'm on my way," she replied, beginning to head towards her location.

Immediately after Chuck introduced the next contestant, he quickly made his way backstage and to Lara's side, checking for her breathing and a pulse. There were lots of other people already there, trying to see what was wrong with her. They had sat her up against a wall, trying not to cause too much of a stir. After confirming that both were stable, he went to a quieter spot and said into his watch, "She's alive, and okay. I think she just fainted or something."

"But that doesn't make sense," Casey retorted, his voice strained, "Lara's never passed out before, except when she's drugged or poisoned or something."

"Don't worry, Casey, I'm sure she'll be fine," Chuck reassured, "I'll make sure she's okay." Then he saw Sarah walk over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And I'll make sure _you're_ okay," she agreed.

He forced a smile. "Thanks, Sarah," he replied, "I appreciate it."

"No problem," she retorted, "Now, you go on and continue hosting, while I'll watch out for Lara and make sure she wakes up before the next round."

"This seems too suspicious," Casey grumbled, "I'm going to go check it out on my own. Take good care of Lara for me."

"Be careful, Casey," Sarah warned, "Alert me if you need any help. Remember, things aren't always what they seem here, _especially_ with all the Fulcrum agents and all. We may be walking right into a trap."

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Casey replied with a grunt before he replied into his watch, "Got it. Take care, Walker." Then he looked around cautiously to make sure that no one was watching him before quietly walking off, creeping through a restricted area door.

His instincts immediately screamed at him that something was wrong. He drew his gun from behind his back and kept it down, ready to shoot at any Fulcrum agent that threatened him and or suspected him along the way. The major was in a long, white-walled hallway, and there were very few lights that lit up the hall. Three doors were near the far end of the hallway, and only one of them had windows on the door.

_Damn, something isn't right. Maybe I should turn back now,_ he thought, _But I've got to protect Bartowski, not to mention follow orders. Maybe I'll be able to find out what made Lara pass out. Maybe I'll encounter that damn Jason Wilson so I can finish what I started for attempting to kill my girlfriend._

Suddenly, Casey heard voices coming from one of the far doors. He quickly yet quietly advanced towards the three doors and paid closer attention to which door the voices were coming from. He found that the voices were coming from the left one, and so he pressed his back against the wall next to the door and tried to listen in on their conversation.

"So why won't Jesse let us tell the boss who the Intersect is?" a deep male voice asked.

"He doesn't want to let it be known that he was outsmarted by CIA agent Lara Clark _again_. You know, Jack, the one that gave him the scar on his arm a few years ago," another male voice answered, his voice a bit higher, "Even though Jason knows that his brother James fancies her, he's planning on killing her at some point before she leaves tonight. Jason will not hesitate to kill her if he has the chance, not to mention that boyfriend of hers."

"By the way, Ronald, what does James have planned for the Intersect? How are we capturing him?" Jack inquired.

"From what I heard, there's a sniper positioned on one of the top balconies that will shoot one of the AY-63 darts into his neck. It'll knock him out and hopefully throw off the agents protecting him, and we'll give him the antidote after we capture him," he explained.

Casey had heard enough, so he broke into the room and pointed his gun at the two men sitting at the table. "Hands up!" he shouted, "Nobody move!"

Without warning, the door behind him whipped open and hit Casey on the head hard on the head with the hilt of his gun and the NSA major collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Jason Wilson grinned down at the knocked out agent.

"Expected that this one would come," he told his agents, "knew that he would want to extract revenge on me for near killing his girlfriend, the damned agent Lara Clark."

"What should we do with him now?" Ronald inquired.

"Bound and gag him. Best keep him in the broom closet down the other hallway next to the stage. It'll be too loud there for anyone to hear him try to get out," he ordered, "Now I have an edge over Lara. There's no_ way_ that Lara will risk his life... even if it means sacrificing her own."

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**YAY! CLIFFY!**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN!**


	7. Round Two: Complications Arise

**Here's the next chapter! It's been about nearly a week since I've updated this story, and now things are getting a bit more interesting. **

**One: Casey's still stuck in a closet.  
Two: Lara is/will be suffering from a draft that she had no idea she inhaled.  
Three: Chuck is on the verge of freaking out.  
Four: Jeff and Lester are hoping that Lara is not the same Casey's girlfriend Lara.  
and Five: Fulcrum is planning something evil... very evil...**

**Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
: I Turn to You (c) Christina Aguilera  
Claimer: Idea, story, etc. (c) me**

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Chapter Six: Round Two: Complications Arise

Lara's golden eyes fluttered open, seeing Sarah and Chuck in front of her, watching her worriedly.

"Lara, are you okay?" Chuck inquired, worry filling his voice.

She blinked, breathing in deeply. "U-Uh, yeah, I think so. W-What happened?" she asked quietly.

"You said that you couldn't breathe, and then we heard you collapse," Sarah informed, "Do you have any idea what happened?"

"No idea," her fellow CIA agent answered, "I-I don't hurt as bad now. I'm not quite sure what happened, only that after I walked off stage I began to feel woozy. Then my head hurt and the world spun around me. I felt like my lungs were constricting and I could no longer breathe. Then I felt my world go black, and darkness overtook me. How long have I been out?"

Chuck checked his digital communicator watch. "About 7 minutes. They're about to announce the contestants moving onto the next round," he announced, helping her up, "Good timing, eh? Are you ready?"

She nodded. "I-I think so. W-Where's John?" she asked.

"He went off to investigate," Sarah informed, "Weird, I haven't heard anything from him since you passed out."

Her golden eyes glimmered with concern. "I hope he's okay," she murmured before turning to Chuck, "Come on. Let's go see what the results are."

He nodded gravely and they headed towards one side of the stage as all of the contestants went out to get their results.

James Wilson stood up from his place on the judges' panel and announced in a loud voice, "Thank you all for your wonderful performances. We've decided to make a change in the schedule, and cut down the numbers to the top 5. Following we will cut to the final 3, and from there, choose our winner. Now, the top 5 performers are; Erica Stanford, Christopher Reynolds, Lara Clark, Miranda Laurens, and Jared Lark. Congratulations to those five and thank you to the rest of you who didn't make it for your courage to perform in front of this crowd. As for the top 5, the order in which you will be performing in is, Miranda, Christopher, Jared, Lara, and Erica. We will take a quick 5 minute concession for you all to get ready. Good luck!"

The five walked off stage with Chuck and Lara immediately went back to the dressing room to change into another dress.

"Yep, as we expected," Sarah said to Chuck, "Lara made it to the top 5. Not that big of a shocker if you ask me."

"Well, after her performance, I guess not," Chuck agreed. Then his eyes widened. "Hey, wait a second, I just realized something. Casey was missing," he said.

"He went to go investigate, remember?" she retorted.

"But he wouldn't miss the results of his girlfriend's performance, would he?" the human Intersect pointed out, "Something must have happened to him. Should we go look for him?"

"Let's wait until Lara comes back in a few minutes. She might have a better idea on what's going on," Sarah suggested, "By the way, how many of the top 5 are Fulcrum agents?"

"Three of them are working undercover for them," Chuck answered positively, "Erica Stanford, Miranda Laurens, and Jared Lark. I think Chris Reynolds is just one unlucky Burbank citizen. And of course, Lara is with us."

"I hope Lara's not having any problems in the dressing room," she said quietly, a sigh escaping her.

Of course, she just _had_ to be wrong.

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A loud 'thwack' echoed in the room as Lara was viciously thrown against the wall, and she collapsed onto her hands and knees. They had locked Chris inside his changing room. She looked up at the three Fulcrum agents who were beating her mercilessly and wiped blood away from her. Her dress was pure black, had spaghetti straps and the dress fanned out into waves from her waist down, reaching just below her knees. She knew she couldn't fight back without drawing up a crowd, who were mostly Fulcrum agents, and allowed herself to get beat up.

"You're lucky that this dress is black or else the blood would show," Lara commented crudely.

Erica Stanford punched her across the face, causing the CIA agent to collapse onto her side, groaning slightly in pain. "D-Did James set you up to do this? Or did Jason just wanted to warn me to back off?" she guessed.

"Quiet!" Miranda snarled, kicking her hard in the stomach, causing her to cough up some blood, "CIA scum!"

"Yeah, we heard you scratched up our boss Jason real well," Jared hissed. Then he looked at his fellow Fulcrum agents and said, "Come on, let's go. I think the competition is going to start up soon. We'll just let the host know that Clark might not be coming."

As they were leaving, Lara heard Miranda asking, "So did the boss say who the Intersect was?"

"No," Jared replied, "Both he and James refused to say who it was."

Soon enough, the three undercover Fulcrum agents were out of earshot, and Lara groaned in pain as she tried to move. _Damn..._ she thought, _I'm in trouble here if I can't make it outta here for the next round. I wonder if James even knows about this. Probably not though, I don't think Jason would want to get into trouble with him. Ugh... I hope someone finds me soon. Either that or..._

She grabbed hold of the tiny communicator attached to her dress and raised it to her lips, whispering quietly, "G-Guys? I need a hand here, if t-that would be great. I just received a beating from Erica, Jared and Miranda. Sure, I'm in slight pain, but that's only because Miranda's hard-toed heels connected with my stomach."

"Are you okay?!" Chuck immediately asked.

"Well... if you guys would just_ come_ here then I'd be a whole lot better," she replied, wincing slightly as she sat up, her back resting against the wall, "Sarah, maybe only you should come. It would seem too suspicious if Chuck came with you for absolutely no reason. You could make more of an excuse that you were going to see whether me and Chris were all set cause we didn't arrive yet. Oh, by the way, they locked Chris inside his dressing room, so if you could get him out, that would be great."

"I'm on my way," Sarah informed quietly.

"Where's Casey?" Lara inquired, "He hasn't said a word at all. Casey, if you're there Sweetheart, where are you?"

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Poor John Casey was locked inside the broom closet, his hands tied behind his back and a gag in his mouth. Luckily for him, the two idiots who locked him in there really sucked at tying knots that would hold well, not to mention forgot to remove his communicator watch and his earpiece.

The NSA agent easily slipped out of the knots around his hands, removed the gag from his mouth, and spoke quietly into his communicator after hearing the whole conversation between Lara, Chuck and Sarah. "Lara, you there?" he asked.

"Casey," she breathed in relief, "Where are you?"

"Locked inside a broom closet. When I went investigating I discovered two Fulcrum agents lounging about and I listened into their conversation. Once I break in there with my gun, I get knocked out by some dirty slime ball," he explained, "Are you okay? I overheard what happened."

"Well... I _look_ fine, but I feel terrible," she answered, "Can you get out? Or do you need help?"

"Nah, I can probably get myself outta here in no time. Be careful, Lara," he warned, "Things are getting a little more hostile. I'll see you soon."

He stood up and pressed his ear against the door, making sure that there weren't any Fulcrum agents outside. To his disapproval, there were two.

_Probably the two idiots who sucked at tying knots, _Casey thought, grinning as he drew his firearm, _this is gonna be fun._

In an instant, he broke the door down and whacked both of the agents on the back of the head, knocking them out. Then he dragged their limp bodies into the broom closet and tied them up, gagging them as well. He finished by tying a tight knot and grunting, "Now _that's_ how you tie a proper knot."

Following that, he hurriedly made his way to the competitors' dressing room, more than slightly concerned about his girlfriend.

Casey ran into the dressing room, gun poised in case there were Fulcrum agents in the room at the time. He immediately holstered his gun after seeing Lara sat up against the wall, her eyes closed and Sarah using a cold wet cloth to wipe away the blood on her mouth. He kneeled down beside his lover and touched her cheek, where a small bruise was beginning to form.

The NSA major turned to Sarah. "Is she okay?" he inquired.

She opened her golden eyes and looked at him. "I'm okay," she responded, her voice dry before she cleared it, "Ahem, r-really, Casey, I'm okay."

He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips, careful not to hurt her further. He pulled away after tasting the blood still on her lips. "Lara, what _happened_?" he demanded, his voice lower and more threatening.

She coughed, hacking up a bit more blood and it streamed down her lips.

"Lara!" Sarah exclaimed as Casey snatched the wet cloth from her and immediately began to wipe away the blood. Then he pulled her tightly against his shoulder, keeping her close.

"Lara, you're less than okay. You're hurt," he stated.

She tried to pull away from him, trying to stand up. "But I-I've g-got to g-go o-out there a-and protect the Intersect. I-I can't let Fulcrum w-win," she breathed. But her knees broke from under her due to the previous abuse they received. Casey caught her and held her up.

"You're _not_ okay, Lara," he protested, "You're hurt. You can't continue with this. We'll just get Bartowski out of here and blow up the place. I can get a NSA air force team assembled and-"

"No!" she broke off, "M-My first day here in Burbank, I just _can't_ go down this easily. Something's wrong with me, I've gotten... weaker. Damn... I can't just give up now. Its okay, Casey, Sarah, I can do this. Trust me."

Sarah forced a grin. "You can be pretty stubborn sometimes," she commented, "but maybe that's from just hanging out with Casey too long."

The major groaned and rolled his eyes. "Uh huh, right…" he replied sarcastically, "So now _I'm _the stubborn one? I'm _so_ sorry I can't just _follow orders_."

"And _my_ orders are to protect the Intersect," Lara grunted, "But how can I if I can't keep up my cover? I've got to protect him. If I can't even do a simple mission like that, then how can I dare to call myself a CIA agent. It's okay, Casey. You can let go of me. I can do this, I _have _to." She looked at him with desperate eyes.

He sighed in defeat and slowly released her. When she managed to maintain her balance, he looked at her with worried eyes. "Be careful, Lara, and good luck," he said.

Sarah exchanged a look with her fellow CIA agent and she nodded. "Good luck, Lara. I know you'll do great," she said, "By the way, I've already let Chris out of the dressing room." Then she left back towards the stage.

Casey wrapped an arm around Lara's waist and pulled her close to him, pressing his mouth tightly against hers before pressing his forehead against hers. "I really care for you, you know," he said quietly.

She chuckled. "You're not one to say 'I love you', are you?" she retorted, "But you know I love you too." Then she followed in Sarah's direction and left the NSA major all by himself.

He took the other way out of the room so that he could re-exit back into the public opera hall so he could watch Lara's performance while at the same time ensure that no Fulcrum agents tried to assassinate Chuck. Jared was just finishing up his performance on stage and Casey glared at him furiously, knowing that he was one of the three Fulcrum agents that beat up on his girlfriend.

_You are going to pay for what you did to my Lara,_ he thought threateningly, _Wait a sec; did I just think _my_ Lara? Damn, that woman is taking a toll on me._

Chuck re-entered onto front stage and had a big grin on his face. Casey knew that it was completely not real and he was scared out of his wits. "A-And now, next up, back on stage, singing 'I Turn to You', Ms. Lara Clark!" The Intersect declared.

"Oh yeah, mama's back in the house!" Jeff shouted from the audience, though it was drowned out by applause.

Morgan grabbed onto his arm cautiously. "You know John would kill you if he heard you say that," he warned.

"Yeah, well guess what? John isn't _here_," Lester retorted hotly, "He probably has no _idea_ that she would come here and perform on her first night in Burbank. If he saw her looking like _this_ he'd probably be drooling all over her."

"Casey isn't like that," Morgan said thoughtfully, "In this situation I think he'd be more of a 'back-off-losers-she's-mine' kinda guy."

Lara stepped back out into the spotlight, a small smile gracing her face. But Casey saw in her eyes fatigue and a deep pain; he knew things were getting rough on her.

_"When I'm lost in the rain,_

_In your eyes I know I'll find the light,_

_To light my way, when I'm scared losing ground,_

_When my world is going crazy you can turn it all around,_

_And when I'm down you're there pushing me to the top,_

_You're always there giving me all you've got._

_For a shield, from the storm, for a friend, for a love,_

_To keep me safe and warm, I turn to you._

_For the strength to be strong, for the will to carry on,_

_For everything you do I turn to you."_

Instantly John Casey could sense something was wrong. He could tell that some of Lara's vocals were strained. Maybe, no, _certainly_ she was lying about her condition. But, regrettably, there was nothing he could do now, nothing except watch.

_"For the arms to be my shelter through all the rain,_

_For truth that will never change for someone to lean on_

_But for a heart I can rely on through anything_

_For the one who I can run to oh I turn to you._

_For a shield, from the storm, for a friend, for a love,_

_To keep me safe and warm, I turn to you._

_For the strength, to be strong, for the will to carry on,_

_For everything you do, for everything that's true,_

_For everything you do, for everything that's true,_

_I turn to you."_

_Wow, so she lasted the whole song after all,_ Casey thought cheerfully, grinning, _Maybe she just_ naturally_ couldn't reach those notes, or she could but was strained. I don't blame her; those are pretty hard notes to hit. I know I wouldn't be able to, even with my entire choir boy practising. Damn I love that woman._

Lara took a shaky breath and curtsied. Her eyes fluttered for a moment and she put a hand on her forehead, suddenly seeing the crowd as invisible. Immediately Casey began to head backstage at the sight of her weakening.

James Wilson looked at the CIA agent with slightly worried eyes. "Ms. Clark, are you alright?" he inquired.

She sighed and looked back at the Fulcrum agent. "Y-Yes, I-I think I'm alright. Thank you for your concern," she replied shakily.

Much to her discomfort, he sighed in relief, "Very well then, as for your performance, it was spectacular. I can see that you've practiced a lot in order to reach that stunning range. You've done an excellent job on your performance, Ms. Clark."

"Thank you," Lara replied before walking off stage. She received glares and evil smiles from Erica, Miranda and Jared, and a nod from Christopher, signalling that she did a good job. She walked back towards the Dressing Room through the hallway, her head a bit dizzy, but she ran into a certain Fulcrum agent.

"Jason, what do you want?" she hissed, not very ferociously.

He grabbed her and pinned her against the wall, but she was too weak to retaliate. He leaned in and let his lips brush her exposed neck before whispering into her ear, "Revenge. But not without having a little fun first."

_Damn it, Casey, where are you?_ Lara thought as she tried to push him away, "Let. Me. Go." She mumbled; her eyes slipping closed, feeling his sharp fingernails dig into her already bruised skin.

"Too bad your boyfriend isn't here to witness this," Jason chuckled quietly, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed her neck.

_Casey... Please..._ Lara thought, praying in her heart that he would come for her, _Where are you when I need you?_

* * *

**Oohh... Cliffy! Hope you've liked it so far!**

**Is Casey going to arrive in time to save her? Or will she fall prey to Jason's scheming, devious, and REVENGE-FILLED mind (aka, or will she die?).**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	8. There Is No Round Three

**Here's the next chapter to Chuck Versus the Unrequited Love. I hope you like it! **

**Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak.  
: Cry (c) Mandy Moore  
Claimer: Lara, and anything else (c) me**

* * *

Chapter Seven: There Is No Round Three

Chuck paced around nervously, twiddling his thumbs.

"Is something wrong?" Leah Reynolds inquired, looking at him with false worry.

"Uh y-yeah, I'm alright," he replied before she left, then he turned to Sarah, who walked up to him, "Sarah, I'm freaking out here! Help!"

"Chuck, calm down," the CIA agent said in a low tone, "I'm sure that Lara and Casey are alright."

"But we haven't heard anything _good_ from them," he argued, really freaking out now.

Suddenly, Casey ran up to them. "Hey, have you guys seen where Lara went?" he asked quickly.

"Uh... last time I checked, she was heading back to her dressing room to change into her last dress," Chuck answered, "Why? Is something wrong?"

He nodded, his eyes grave. "I'm not exactly sure why, but after Lara's performance she seemed like she was on the verge of fainting. I'm going to make sure that she's okay," he explained.

"Maybe she's just tired, that's all," Sarah suggested, "I'm sure that perhaps because of all the stress and everything she's just exhausted."

The NSA major shook his head in disagreement. "I don't think. She's sung for longer times but has _never_ experienced any sort of fainting spells," he elaborated, "I really think something might be wrong with her."

"I have to stay here and continue hosting or else people might suspect something," Chuck said.

"Meaning _I_ have to stay here and protect the asset," Sarah added, "Let us know if you have any problems, but be careful, Casey."

He nodded gravely before heading off in a fairly quick pace, his hand continuously twitching towards his gun as he prayed in his heart that nothing bad had happened to his beloved CIA agent.

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Lara Clark grunted as she tried desperately to push Fulcrum agent Jason Wilson away from her. Her hands fluttered weakly against his shoulders, trying to force him off of her, and very soon her arms fell limp at her sides.

Jason chuckled as he saw that she had fallen near unconscious. "I'm _really_ going to enjoy this, though I'd probably rather take it to a more private place. Anyway, my brother chose to immediate select the winner from the top 5, most likely you. Ah well, beggars can't be choosers. Then again, with Fulcrum agents, who you can't have, you kill so that no one else will have them either."

"I-I thought you hated me," Lara whispered, "And let go of me dammit! Cause I hate _you_, so just leave me alone. I don't have anything you want."

He grinned evilly. "With someone like you and a body like that, there's nothing else I need but you," he retorted, his lips brushing her cheek.

"No one but my boyfriend can speak to me like that," she hissed, slapping him hard on the face with the last bit of her strength.

He smirked at her, unfazed. "I like my girls spicy," he commented, punching her across the face, knocking her to the floor.

Suddenly, Jason heard a sound behind him and turned around. "How _dare_ you hit my girlfriend," a deep, familiar voice grunted, and punched Jason in the face, hitting him hard enough that he was knocked out.

NSA Major John Casey cracked his knuckles as he stared –correction, _glared_ down at the unconscious man. Then he kneeled next to his girlfriend as her body was slumped on the ground.

"Lara, Lara, Lara!" he exclaimed, pulling her against him, one hand tightly on the back of her head, pressing her against his shoulder.

She half-opened her eyes and moaned weakly, "C-C-Casey..."

He looked back at her, his eyes filled with relief. "Lara, thank God you're awake. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. Are you okay? Did he do anything to you? Did he hurt you? Other than the punch, of course."

"I'm okay," she muttered quietly, "He didn't hurt me much. You came just in time. Thanks."

Casey lifted her into his arms and held her tightly against him as he still kneeled with her against the wall. "Lara, something's wrong with you. My instincts tell me that you've been poisoned, but I hope I'm wrong about that."

"Can't be unless I inhaled something," she whispered, "I honestly hope not. Maybe I just need a drink of water."

"Lara, your heartbeat is slowing down, as in, _really_ slowing down," Casey noted, his tone growing worried, "Damn it, I've got to get you to a hospital or something."

Her hand touched his arm, and he stopped moving, gazing down at her. "C-Casey, w-we need to stay here. J-Jason s-said t-that James was planning o-on directly selecting the winner a-and if that's the case... C-Chuck's in danger."

"You know Walker can always save him too," he retorted.

She smiled weakly at him. "I know, but _we_ have a job to do too, and that's protecting him. Forget about me, if you must, but we need to go help Sarah protect him," she reasoned, "We can't let Fulcrum destroy our Intersect. Lower me down, Casey, I-I think I can stand."

The major lowered her onto her feet, and she grabbed his shoulder for support. "U-Ugh, okay, I'm okay. What should we do with_ him_?" she implored, motioning to the still-unconscious Fulcrum agent.

"One; never let him near you again," John Casey growled, "Two; I guess we'll just leave him, but not without taking his gun. He'll probably be even more tempted to shoot you after he wakes up. We actually _should_ tie him up or get rid of him or something. He's too much of a threat to our mission."

"_Your_ mission, actually," Lara corrected, placing a hand on his chest, "You want to protect me, and I thank you for that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change. I'll be back in a jiffy." Then she made her way over to the dressing room, and she disappeared out of his sight.

_Damn,_ Casey thought, _that was too close for comfort. If I hadn't been able to come in time..._ He shivered at the thought. _Enough about that, I'm not suppose to think of what would have been, what's done is done. I've got to focus on what's happening now, and what might happen in the future._

5 minutes later, Lara returned wearing a white spaghetti-strap dress that reached her heels. Clear sequins patterned the fabric around her waist before it spread into waves around her legs. Her hair was tied up into a high, fancy bun, but a few bangs framed her face. She had reapplied her red rosy lipstick. From close up, Casey could see the faint bruises that were beginning to form on her soft, exposed skin. He embraced her.

"You look beautiful," he commented quietly, tucking one of her bangs behind her ears, "Do you feel any better?"

She giggled, "Yeah, I'm a bit better after drinking a little water, thanks. Now, here's the part where you'll stand on the side of the opposite stage Chuck, Sarah and I are on, so that if something happens, we should be able to get together faster. Plus, you can probably control things on your end, while we can deal with ours."

"Okay, let's do this," he determined, kissing her gently as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

She pulled away, smiling. "Okay, okay, come on; don't go messing up my lipstick now," she teased, half-joking, "Maybe later when we're back at the apartment."

"Love, lust, all the good stuff," he agreed.

"Hey, hey, hey, no lust, arousal, or anything of the sort," she reminded, "our relationship is strictly professional, remember? Forget that and I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Ooh, getting vicious, are we now? Like you could hurt me..." he chuckled, "Now, come on, let's get going before the others start to suspect."

"Got it, let's go," she agreed, "Sarah and Chuck should be waiting for us. Keep your eye out for anything strange going on, and alert us if you see any shooters."

He kissed her once more before they went their separate ways.

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Chuck and Sarah both smiled when they saw Lara return backstage in her white night dress.

"Nice to know you made it out of the dressing room alive," Sarah joked, not knowing what_ really_ happened outside the dressing room.

Lara chuckled nervously. "R-Right, anyway, did you hear any news about the competition?" she asked, immediately drawing the attention away from her.

"Yeah, James made the announcement that he's immediately announcing the winner of the competition directly after the last competitor performs. I have a bad feeling about this," Sarah informed.

"Hmm... that's what _he_ said too," she muttered to herself.

"Who said?" Chuck informed, hearing what she said.

"Uh, no one," she lied, "Don't worry about it. Anyway, who's performing now?"

"No one," Sarah replied, matter-of-factly, "You were the second last contestant, remember? James called a 10 minute intermission before the winner is announced. According to what we've heard, the winner will give one final performance before they receive the prize presented by the host. Lara, if you win, keep a sharp eye out for anything strange or suspicious during your final performance. Casey and I will be on either side of the stage and make sure that no one will attack you from the sides."

"Okay, sounds like a good plan," Lara agreed before turning to the Intersect with a grave look on her face, "Chuck, if something happens to me, you run to Sarah. Casey will cover your escape."

His eyes looked worriedly. "But what about you?" he asked worriedly.

She looked at him with sad eyes. "You're going to have to leave me, no matter what happens. Your safety is what matters here, not mine, not Casey's, and not Sarah's, but _you,"_ she told him, "If something should happen to me, I would rather know that the asset is safe with the two people that he trusts the most in the government. You'll be okay, Chuck, don't worry, Casey and Sarah are here to take care of you, as am I. You can trust us."

"She's right, Chuck," Sarah agreed, "You can trust us. We're here to protect you, no matter what happens."

"B-B-But s-she j-just got here, Sarah," he argued in a stammer, "W-We can't let her die."

She smiled, throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him into a hug. "Chuck, you're a good person, and I respect that, but I've got a job to do, and that's protect you, the asset, no matter what happens. Sure, I wouldn't mind at least a few more days on the job and with Casey and everything, but I can't choose my destiny. Destiny chooses me."

Leah Reynolds walked over to them as Chuck and Lara broke their hug. She tapped Chuck on the shoulder and said, "Mr. Bartowski, you're on any minute now. Get ready." She handed him a sealed envelope. "Here's the result of who won. Good luck!"

"T-Thanks, Ms. Reynolds," he thanked, trying to keep playing it cool, "and thanks for helping me tonight. I probably wouldn't do such a good job at hosting if I hadn't had you here helping. It was really sweet of you to help out."

She shot him a seductive smile and gently stroked his arm. "Maybe if you came over to _my_ place tonight I could _really _show you how sweet I am," she tempted, but actually did the complete _opposite _effect on him, as he shrunk back from her touch.

"Um... no thank you," Chuck declined politely, "B-But thanks for the offer."

Sarah glared at her, Death raging threatening in her eyes.

"Very well," Leah sighed, brushing back blonde locks before turning to Lara, her eyes hard and threatening, "Miss Clark, good job on your performance, I daresay, your singing could nearly _kill_."

The CIA agent chuckled, her eyes narrowed. "Well, then I must say, we're lucky we didn't have any _casualties,"_ she challenged.

Now it was the undercover Fulcrum agent's turn to chuckle. "There's still _one more round_, Miss Clark. Let's not forget that _anything could happen_," she retorted before giving a single nod, "In any case, good luck. _You'll need it._" Then she walked away.

Lara tilted her head so that her mouth was closer to the tiny communicator attached to her dress. "Casey, did you catch all that?" she asked quietly.

"Affirmative," he responded automatically into her invisible earpiece, "You be careful there, Lara. I have a bad feeling about this, and you know I'm usually right. Note the word, _usually_. Please be careful, Lara, I love you."

Chuck's eyes widened as both he and Sarah also heard what Casey said in their own earpieces. "Whoa," he breathed, "D-Did Casey just say 'I love you'?"

"Can it, Bartowski," the major growled, "You're ruining the moment."

She giggled, "See? Was that so hard, John? I love you too though, and yes, I'll be careful."

Applause could be heard from out on stage and Chuck said, "That's my cue. I'll be calling you guys up pretty soon." Then he went out, an uneasy smile on his face. He made eye contact with Morgan in the crowd, and the bearded buddy of his gave him a nod of encouragement. "Well Folks, I hope you've enjoyed this night, and now, it comes down to this. Now, may the five finalists come out on stage; Erica Stanford, Christopher Reynolds, Lara Clark, Miranda Laurens, and Jared Lark," he announced, and the crowd applauded and whistled as they came out. "Great job, all of you, and good luck. The winner of the James Wilson Burbank Talent Competition is..." He unfolded the letter, a bit nervous at first but more positive after nothing happened. He looked at the name and smiled, calling out, "Miss Lara Clark!"

Applause burst from the room and Lara stepped forward, smiling naturally and waving, blowing kisses into the crowd. "Thank you for your support!" she thanked.

Christopher, Miranda, Erica and Jared walked off stage, and Sarah silently told Christopher to get out of the opera hall while he still could and he obliged. His instincts told him something was beyond normal.

James Wilson stood up and grinned at Lara. "Congratulations, Miss Clark. You've earned it. Now, may we please request one_ last_ song?"

She nodded, and Chuck stood on the side of the stage, and Lara began to sing her last, final song.

_"I'll always remember,_

_It was late afternoon,_

_It lasted forever,_

_But ended so soon,_

_You were all by yourself,_

_Staring up at a dark gray sky, _

_I was changed._

_In places no one will find, _

_All your feelings so deep inside,_

_It was there that I realized,_

_That forever was in your eyes,_

_The moment I saw you cry._

_I wanted to hold you,_

_I wanted to make it go away,_

_I wanted to know you,_

_I wanted to be your everything, all right,_

_I'll always remember,_

_It was late afternoon,_

_In places no one will find."_

Lara took note of the two positioned snipers on the top balconies, with no clear target, but she knew that things were gonna get ugly. She had no way she could alert the others silently, and so she had no choice but to leave it and hope the others caught eye of it.

_"In places no one will find,_

_All your feelings so deep inside,_

_It was there that I realized,_

_That forever was in your eyes,_

_The moment I saw you cry._

_In places no one will find,_

_All your feelings so deep inside,_

_It was there that I realized,_

_That forever was in your eyes,_

_The moment I saw you cry."_

Lara took a deep curtsy as Chuck returned to her side, presenting her with the ten thousand dollar check, signed by James himself. That was when Lara realized the direction of the barrel of the first sniper's gun, and pushed Chuck out of the way and a small dart spiralled into the side of her neck, and she drew out her gun, shooting down the sniper that shot at her.

Immediately, screams broke through the opera hall as people, including Morgan, Jeff and Lester ran out screaming. The second sniper shot again towards Chuck, but was once more intercepted by Lara as she viciously pushed him to the ground, the second dart sinking right into the side of her throat. Sarah scrambled to Chuck's side and helped him up after shooting the second sniper.

"L-Lara!" Chuck exclaimed, realizing that the CIA agent had fallen unconscious, her body motionless. The sight of her made Chuck think that she was dead.

"Chuck! We've got to go!" Sarah shouted, pulling him up with her as they left the stage.

Casey met up with them on the side of the stage and grunted, "Let's go. I've taken care of some of the Fulcrum agents already, but I know more will come. We've got to go before they do, and I've already called in our own backup. Move it, Bartowski!"

Before Chuck could even _mention_ Lara, Casey and Sarah dragged him out through the emergency exit, threw him into the black armoured van and immediately drove off back to Chuck's home.

"Casey! Casey! We've got to go back!" Chuck complained, panicking.

"Can it, Bartowski! What is it?!" the older man demanded, "This had better be important!"

"We've got to go back and get Lara! She was shot twice in the neck with this dart-like-thing and then she was out cold!" he blubbered.

"She's dead, Chuck! Forget about her!" Sarah snapped, "We can't go back!"

Casey's grip tightened on the steering wheel, and pain flashed across his face. _Dammit... Lara... I can't believe I forgot about you, _he thought, _You can't die on me. I'll come back for you, I promise. The asset comes first._

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Casey dropped Chuck back home and told him, "Bartowski, you stay in your home and don't leave. Walker, stay with him if you must. I'm going back to save Lara if I can."

Sarah looked gravely at the major. "Casey, I'll come with you," she said, turning back to Chuck, "Be careful, Chuck. Just stay with Awesome and Ellie. We'll be back as soon as we can."

He nodded as she stayed in the car with Casey before the two agents drove off.

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"Be careful, Fulcrum might still be here," Sarah warned as they silently crept into the opera house, guns drawn, "Last time I checked, Lara was lying on the middle of the stage. She should be still there... unless Fulcrum took her with them."

Casey growled, "Oh God I hope not. If they do anything to hurt her I swear I will hunt them down and make them pay."

Sarah held her tongue, not wanting to remind the major that Lara may already be dead. She knew this was hard on him already, and she didn't want to make it any tougher than it was already.

When they ensured that the room was cleared, they both saw that Lara's body no longer lay on the stage. Casey bent down and picked a familiar golden heart necklace. He instantly knew it was Lara's. It was the same one he had helped put on earlier that night.

"No..." he whispered, feeling tears prickling at his eyes as he clenched the necklace against his chest, "Lara..."

John Casey's one true love was gone... and Fulcrum had taken her, with a good chance that she may already be dead. But what_ really_ happened to her? Is CIA agent Lara Clark_ really_ dead? How is Casey going to handle the trauma at the 'death' of another lover? Or is he not going to handle it at all?

* * *

**YAY! Another cliffy! I wonder what happened to Lara? *Hint, it involves the AY-63 dart mention two chapters ago.* Will Casey find her in time? Or will she be longggg gone by then?**

**Please Review and I'll update as soon as I can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. Missing or Dead?

**Well... here's the next chapter. Thanks to all of the wonderful reviews who reviewed for the last chapter (aka, **jou-jou86, Bianquinha, **and **WafflemanX**)!!!** **I really appreciated the reviews and they really helped in the making** **of this chapter as well as the continuation and advancement of the story. **

**Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak.  
Claimer: Lara and everything else (c) me**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Missing or Dead?

"Chuck, sit down, you're making me nervous," Ellie Bartowski said.

"Yeah dude, chill," Devon, or 'Captain Awesome', added, "Sarah _did _say that she'd be back."

"I know!" Chuck snapped unintentionally, "But she's been gone for 10 minutes! Maybe something's happened to her! O-or-"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"S-she could be right at the door," he trailed off, peeping through the peephole before opening the door, "H-Hi Sarah."

She sighed, "Hi Chuck. Can I talk to you outside for a moment?"

He shrugged. "Sure." Then he walked out and closed the door behind him, standing with her in the courtyard. "Where's Casey?" he observed.

"In his apartment," she said, her eyes grave, "We didn't find Lara. Casey and I think that she's been taken by Fulcrum, and eventually used as a ransom to get you. Casey's in a bit of a shock, well... he's not taking this very well."

"W-What? You couldn't _find _her?" he emphasized.

She shook her head. Then she noticed that Devon and Ellie were staring at them through a window. _Damn... bad timing... I can't make him all sob and everything now! It'll make them think that I broke up with him,_ she thought, _I've gotta act fast!_ She grabbed Chuck by the collar, pulling his lips tightly against hers.

Chuck was deeply surprised at first, but then he sunk into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. He completely forgot what was going on around him and completely directed his attention and focus on kissing Sarah back. "Oh Sarah," he moaned, "Should we take this to the bedroom?"

She hissed into his ear, "I can tell General Beckman it's part of our cover, cause it's only natural that a girl would do something to seduce her boyfriend."

He lifted her into his arms. "Yes... _let's_." Then he carried her back into the house and Devon grinned, "So... my pep talk a while ago must have inspired you two."

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In Casey's apartment, he sat in his reclining chair and was listening what was going on in the Bartowski's apartment.

"My pep talk a while ago must have inspired you two," he heard Devon say.

Casey shook his head. "What the hell is he talking about?" he asked, switching the range of his listening device. Then he heard passionate moans and groans coming from Chuck's room and immediately switched off his device, removing his headphones. "So _that's _what Woodcomb was talking about," he growled, "Damn, how could they make love at a time like this? Argh... Lara... where the hell _are_ you?"

Suddenly, his TV switched on and General Beckman appeared. Casey immediately stood up. "Beckman, secure."

"Casey, secure," he retorted, "Is there something you need, General?"

"What's the asset's status?" she inquired.

A low growl escaped his throat. "Bartowski's fine," he grunted.

The NSA general looked around his living room. "Major, where's Agent Clark?" she demanded, "Isn't she suppose to be living with you?"

Pain flashed through his eyes and answered, "She's been kidnapped by Fulcrum and there's no sign of her or the Fulcrum agents ordering a ransom yet."

She blinked, letting his words sink in. "_Excuse me_? Agent Clark has been _kidnapped_?" she snapped, "Explain yourself, Major."

"She was kidnapped at the Talent Competition by James and Jason Wilson. They were after Chuck, but she saved his life twice by taking two dart shots. She was unconscious immediately after the second dart hit, and Walker and I had to escort the Intersect out safely," he explained.

"Agent Casey, keep the Intersect in your sight at all times, and if Fulcrum makes contact and tries to arrange a ransom, you must decline at all costs. I know it may be condemning Agent Clark to death, but it's a sacrifice we'll have to make to ensure the safety of the Intersect," she ordered, "I'm sorry, I know your feelings for Agent Clark are complex, but we can't risk the safety of the Intersect."

"Yes, ma'am," he retorted, and the screen went blank, leaving him alone again. He dropped to his knees and pulled out the golden heart necklace from his pocket, clenching it tightly in his hand. "Lara... dammit, I can never protect you, can I?" he choked angrily, remembering the time she nearly gave her life to save his, "I'm sorry."

Together, through Chuck's kindness and Lara's love, it cracked Casey's hardcore reserve, and tears fell from his eyes, dropping onto the carpet. He hurriedly wiped them away and stood up. "Dammit, I can't let my weakness show through. This is stupid. Lara's only another CIA agent that's my partner. What the hell am I thinking? What? Do I expect that we'll end up in some sort of twisted relationship after this? Hell no," Then he decided he was thinking too much and changed into his pyjamas and climbed into the bed he and Lara shared earlier, inhaling her lilac scent that remained on her pillow. Oh how he wished that she was lying right beside him in that moment, but he knew in his heart that he had to bring her back, somehow.

_Dammit... thinking too much again.... _he thought.

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The next day, there was still no word on Lara, and the weather was gloomy and dark, not to mention with a heavy downpour of rain. Casey's mood was as foul as ever, but then again, Chuck and Sarah couldn't blame him.

"Hey Casey, do you want to join Sarah, Ellie, Devon, Morgan and I for dinner tonight?" Chuck offered.

"No thanks," the Major brushed off, turning away from him while continuing price checking merchandise at the Buy More.

"Are you sure?" the Intersect asked worriedly, "Maybe it might take your mind off things."

"I _told_ you, Bartowski. No, I don't want to join you guys for dinner," he hissed, eyes blazing with fury, only covering up the deep hurt inside, "You ask me again and I'll kill you."

Chuck raised his hands in front of him defensively. "Whoa, whoa, okay, Casey. If you don't want to come, that's okay. But... it's just that ever since Lara has been kidnapped, you've been acting differently," he informed him.

Casey sighed, "I'm sorry, Bartowski. It's just- I don't want to think about what they're doing to her. You can't even _imagine_ the torture she must be going through, Bartowski. Even _with_ James' crush on her, she's still standing between them and you, and they'll have to somehow break her in order to get to you. And that_ includes_ torturing her any way they can. Worse yet, Command says that if Fulcrum tries to make any demands, we have to let her die."

A pang of sadness shot through the nerd, and he looked down. He was slightly surprised that Casey apologized to him, but judged by the circumstances, well... he was still surprised. "I-I'm sorry, Casey, I didn't know how much you loved Lara. To be honest, I don't know what I'd do if Sarah was kidnapped either. I'm sure she'll be okay. James wouldn't let her get hurt too bad, he likes her too, you know."

"Thanks, Chuck, I know you mean well, but it's just hard for me after what happened with Ilsa. I thought she was dead for several years, and to find that she was alive and working for French Connections, it was just... crazy," he sighed.

Now Chuck was even _more_ surprised. He had never seen such a human side of Casey before, and it was _really_ freaking him out. "W-Well if you change your mind, the offer's still open," he informed before walking away, meeting up with Sarah just by the entrance of the Buy More.

"Any luck convincing him?" she asked, "You know that Ellie wants to help ease him from the fact that his girlfriend's been kidnapped."

The Intersect sighed, "No. I'm still wondering why we ended up telling them that she was, with the exception of leaving out the whole Intersect and spy business. But I've gotta say, I'm a little freaked out."

Sarah gave him an odd look. "Why? Did Casey give you the ultimate death threat or something?" she implored.

He shook his head. "He's completely terrified for Lara, and it's hard to see him this way. Then, he says that the General ordered him that if Fulcrum makes any demands, we have to let Lara die. That's _horrible_."

The CIA agent sighed. "I understand where the General is coming from, and she's right."

Chuck's eyes widened. "What?! No! You can't be _seriously_ agreeing to what she's saying! She only got captured because she saved my life, _twice_! She got hit with those dart things, _twice_! We can't just let her die like that!" he complained.

The blonde placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Chuck. I know how you must feel about this. But she did it to ensure your safety. It's her job, as it is ours too," she apologized quietly.

"But it's so unfair!" Chuck whined like a little girl, "She was just doing her job! And you shouldn't be apologizing to me, you_ should_ be apologizing to Casey."

"He knows that this has to be done, and if he's truly the NSA's top agent, then he will not protest against the General's orders. But unless the circumstances change, the only thing we can do is pray for her," Sarah said.

He kissed her gently, trying to distract himself from the inevitable truth. "You were great last night, Sarah," he whispered.

She chuckled, "You were too. Now, let's hope that Casey won't be too traumatized over Lara so that he can still be able to protect you."

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Later that night, Casey still didn't change his mind on going over to the Bartowski's for dinner, and instead sat with his glass of scotch, staring up at the ceiling. He was wearing a brown collared button-up shirt, and faded blue jeans.

_Where are you, Lara? I hope you're okay,_ he thought,_ I miss you a lot. It's hard to think that while I'm here sitting on my reclining chair with a glass of scotch, you might be enduring some sort of horrible torture._

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and he closed his eyes. "Argh, go away, Bartowski. I don't need this now!" he shouted, "I'm still not interested in going over for dinner!"

There was another knock on the door, and Casey put down his scotch and whipped open the door, growling, "What do you _want,_ Bartowski?!" But it _wasn't _Chuck who was standing in front of him. Who it really was standing in front of Casey, deeply surprised him.

Lara Clark barely stood, her knees shaking. She was soaked to the bone, and blood trailed from various wounds on her body. Her originally white dress was cut up and somewhat shredded, and bruises, burns, cuts, and wounds could be seen all over her body. Her hair was down, clinging onto her skin in a wet mess. "C-C-Casey," she breathed, shivering before she collapsed forward.

Casey immediately grabbed her and pressed her against his chest as they fell to their knees, trying to process the fact that she was even _alive,_ more or less in his arms. That's when he felt his fingers touch something warm, wet and sticky on her back, and pulled them away to see that it was blood. He looked and saw two long slashes down her back, cutting through the fabric and flesh, drawing large amounts of blood, washing away with the oncoming rain.

"Help!" Casey cried, "Somebody please help! Please help!"

Chuck, Sarah, Ellie, Devon and Morgan came out of the Bartowski's apartment, easily recognizing the Major's gruff, unmistakable voice. They gasped when they saw Lara's wounded, battered body.

Ellie and Devon's medical training instantly kicked in and went to her side, placing her down on her side.

"Someone call 911!" Ellie ordered, placing two fingers against Lara's neck, and Morgan instantly ran back inside the house to call for an ambulance.

Chuck and Sarah ran back into the house, Chuck grabbing several towels from the bathroom before running back out. Sarah searched for bandages and the medical kit.

"Thanks dude!" Devon grabbed the towels from Chuck, pressing them tightly against the wounds on her back, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Her pulse is weak," Ellie told her fiancée, "We've got to get her to the hospital and quick."

"Lara, come on, stay with me here," Casey said, clutching her hand tightly.

Sarah ran out with the medical kit, and Ellie snapped it open, grabbing the alcohol bottle and wads of cotton balls, despite the downpour of rain. She quickly poured some onto the cotton and pressed it against Lara's wound, disinfecting it.

Lara arched her back as her face twisted into one of pain, and a low groan escaped her throat. Then all of a sudden, she sighed and her body became motionless. Casey could feel her hand drop in his. "Lara!" he exclaimed.

Devon lifted her body and Ellie placed the towels on the wet ground so that Lara's back wounds wouldn't get infected with what was on the ground, and Devon laid the body back down, gently slapping her face, trying to wake her up. If she couldn't regain consciousness now because of her blood loss, there wasn't much chance that she would at all. "Come on, Lara, wake up! You've gotta wake up!" he exclaimed before turning to his fiancée, "No answer."

Morgan ran out of the house. "The ambulance is coming! It'll be here in a few minutes!" he informed.

Chuck's older sister saw that Lara was no longer breathing and quickly checked her pulse. "No pulse," she said, "Devon, we've got to get a pulse, or else it's all over."

"Oh my God," Morgan breathed before fainting onto the ground.

"I'll try to see if I can get one," Devon Woodcomb replied, placing one hand over another on Lara's chest and beginning to pump down, trying to get a heartbeat.

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Chuck freaked out, "Isn't there anything we can do?!"

Sarah was a little bit more calm, but only just a little bit. "Chuck, let's help the medics find us. We'll be right outside the gates," she instructed as she and Chuck left.

"Come on, Clark, don't die on me," Casey pushed, not willing to believe it was over.

Suddenly, Lara took a huge, shaky breath a few moments after her heart began to beat again. Quick, shallow breaths escaped her lips as the EMS finally arrived. Chuck and Sarah hurriedly escorted them over where the lifted Lara onto a stretched, hooked her up to a resuscitator, and got her into the van. Devon and Ellie climbed into the ambulance with them and it drove off to the hospital as quick as it could.

Casey, Chuck, and Sarah stood silently in the rain as the ambulance's sirens slowly faded from their hearing. Morgan was still lying on the pavement, unconscious after he fainted.

"C-Casey?" Chuck asked in a small voice, "A-Are you okay?"

The Major dropped to his hands and knees, staring blankly at the ground.

"Casey?" Sarah repeated as both she and Chuck kneeled by his side, "Are you okay? Shouldn't we go meet them at the hospital?"

Casey was still in shock after what had just happened in the past 10 minutes. His girlfriend shows up half-dead at his doorstep, stops breathing and living until Ellie's fiancée brought her back, and was now being driven at full speed to the hospital to be treated for her critical condition. _Of course_ he wasn't okay!

"What the heck just happened?" Chuck asked, "I thought that Lara had been kidnapped. How did she end up back here?"

John Casey blinked, shaking his head as he cleared his thoughts, and rocked back onto his knees. "I'm not exactly sure what happened," he answered in a gruff, monotone voice, "Lara just showed up on my doorstep half-dead. I suspect that the Fulcrum agents are behind it."

"I thought that James wouldn't hurt her," Chuck tried to reason.

"I've already said," Casey retorted in a low tone, "Fulcrum agents don't play by the rules, even if the orders_ are_ made by their superiors. For them you're either the hunter or the hunted. No exceptions."

"You could say it's somewhat similar to the system we have in the CIA and NSA, but _much_ less threatening," Sarah added, "But as for Fulcrum, they train their agents to be merciless, destructive, and smart. If they manage to get the Intersect, they will have millions of the world's military secrets, as well as the complete list of agents both of our agencies."

"Shouldn't we go to the hospital to check up on Lara?" Chuck inquired, "Something might be wrong with her."

Casey looked up into the dark sky, his wet bangs clinging to his forehead and blinked, before turning to Morgan and dragging him into Chuck's house, tossing him onto the couch. Then he stalked back towards his apartment, his hands in his pockets.

"Casey? Casey, where are you going?" the human Intersect asked, "Shouldn't we be heading to the hospital?"

He didn't respond and slammed the door shut.

Chuck exchanged a look with Sarah. "What's up with him?" he implored.

"No idea," she retorted, "I expected that he would at least have been a _little_ more cheerful that Lara's alive. Maybe he feels guilty about letting her get hurt."

Charles' eyes dimmed. "Why should Casey feel guilty? I should be the one that's feeling guilty. She saved my life more than once, and I haven't been able to repay her at all for it," he sighed depressingly, "I know it's her job and all, but I can't help but feel pain knowing that she got hurt because and _instead_ of me."

Sarah sighed, placing a hand on his rain-soaked shoulder, and looking deep into his eyes. "Chuck, it's not your fault Lara got hurt. And don't worry about Casey, maybe he's just reporting back to General Beckman that Lara's returned," she contemplated, "Speaking of which, why would Fulcrum just _let _Lara go? It just doesn't make sense."

"Maybe they poisoned her and want to ransom the antidote," Chuck suggested, "From what I've experienced with Fulcrum, I've come to realized that they don't do things halfway, and I'm afraid that includes returning their captives."

"I think you're right, Chuck," Sarah agreed, "There's no other reason why Fulcrum would release her. Let's ask Casey whether she had anything with her when she showed up on his doorstep."

"I'm not going to ask him, you ask him!" Chuck exclaimed, "I'm not going to face Casey's wrath!"

She rolled her eyes, brushing wet blonde locks away from her face. "I'm guessing that he's _most likely_ talking to General Beckman, like I said before, cause Casey doesn't like to do things halfway either," she offered.

"Then what should we do?" he asked, "Go to the hospital?"

She rolled her eyes again. "_Of course_!" she pointed out, "We've got to support Lara. Let's go, we'll take the Nerd Herd car."

They didn't bother changing into dry clothes and hurriedly ran towards the familiar white and red car, strapping in and driving as fast as they could to the hospital. But one single question lingered in both their minds: where was Casey?

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**I hope you've liked this chapter! Man, another cliffy, eh? lol.**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN!!!**

**PS: Tell me how I'm doing with keeping in character as well as character development so far.**


	10. The Truth About Dart AY63

**Here's the next chapter! A new chapter to start a new month! Hmmm... let's see... I still need to sometime update April Fools Finn, hmm... yay! my b-day is coming up in 7 days, on which I shall update SOMETHING. **

**Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
Claimer: Lara and everything else (c) me**

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Chapter Nine: The Truth About Dart AY-63

"Major Casey, you are to act the role of supportive, over-protecting and caring boyfriend for the time while Agent Clark recovers. That shouldn't be too hard for you, I'm sure," General Beckman ordered, "So I suggest that you get over to the hospital right away. I've alerted Special Agent Dr. Mark Lawrence of the CIA to tend to Agent Clark, he should be arriving any minute now at the hospital."

"Thank you, General," Casey sighed in relief, "I'll report back to you if I hear any more news."

She nodded and the screen went blank. The NSA agent immediately grabbed his coat and his keys, booking it out the door and towards his car. He had to get to the hospital as soon as he could. How was he to play the over-protective boyfriend if he didn't have a girlfriend to be over-protective about?

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Sarah and Chuck paced worriedly as Lara was brought into the emergency room. Devon and Ellie had to be supporting doctor for the operation, and they had to sustain her until the professional surgeon came in. No one else was with them in the room at the time.

Suddenly, a tall, shaggy brown-haired man walked over to them, dressed in operating clothes and he tapped Sarah on the shoulder. "Agent Walker, it's good to see you again," he greeted.

She turned around and her eyes lit up, making Chuck feel a little bit jealous. "Dr. Lawrence! It's good to see you again," she greeted back, "What are you doing here?"

"General Beckman ordered me to take care of Lara after she got a call from Major Casey. I took the express way here and hopefully I'll figure what's wrong with Agent Clark, not to mention take care of her wounds. I've assembled a medical team to assist me, and they're already inside. Now, without further ado," he explained quickly before entering the emergency room.

"Who was that?" Chuck inquired in a curious and yet suspicious voice.

She sighed in relief, "That was Special Agent Dr. Mark Lawrence. He works for the CIA, and as a cover, he's a world-class surgeon, in which he actually is. Apparently we were right, Casey called the General, and she sent Mark to help. At least now we know that Lara will be in good hands."

"Um... okay then," he replied, "If that's the case, where's Casey now?"

As if on cue, the major ran towards them, a forced cheeky grin on his face as he looked at them. "Hey, did you miss me?" he tried to joke casually.

"Where have you been?" Sarah pretended to scold as Ellie and Devon walked out of the emergency room.

"Yes," Ellie spat, glaring at him, "Where_ have_ you been?! You should have been following the ambulance_ immediately_ after it left!"

"I had some... business to take care of," Casey half-lied.

"Dude, what could be more important than taking care of your girlfriend?" Devon asked coolly, "She could be like... your future wife or something. Chuck mentioned during dinner that you two were tight. As in... _really_ tight."

Chuck looked nervous as the NSA agent glared at him, a low growl in the base of her throat. "He told you that, did he now?" he hissed quietly. Then he shook his head. "Any word on Lara? How is she? Is her condition any better?"

Ellie sighed, her anger all simmered out. "Apparently we were called out after Dr. Mark Lawrence arrived. You know, the world-class doctor-surgeon? Yeah, he just happened to be in town, and was working the night shift, and so he saw the emergency call and came in. I didn't know that he was actually in town," she informed.

Casey sighed, knowing that the CIA doctor would take good care of his 'girlfriend'. He sat himself down into a chair and sighed again, closing his eyes momentarily.

"I wonder what happened that caused Lara such terrible wounds," Devon thought out loud, "It must have been pretty terrible."

The NSA agent tensed, thinking the all inevitable things that could have happened to Lara. His hands clenched into fists and all he wanted to do was to take her into his arms and never let her go. But then he scrunched up his eyes as he remembered that they were both spies, and there was no way that they could ever have a true relationship. They could never get married, never have kids, and maybe never even be together till the end.

Ellie and Devon sat across from him, and Chuck and Sarah sat down next to the Major.

"I'm sorry," Chuck said quietly, only meant for Casey's ears.

He sighed, "Just forget about it, Bartowski. What's done is done, there's nothing you nor I can do to change the past. So just drop it."

"Let's just hope that Lara's okay," Sarah stated, "That's what's important now. I know Dr. Lawrence will take good care of her."

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Two hours later, Chuck, Casey and Sarah managed to convince Ellie and Devon to go home, and Dr. Lawrence finally walked out of the emergency room, sighing tiredly. Team Bartowski stood up abruptly.

"How is she, Lawrence?" Sarah demanded of the CIA doctor.

"She's stable but... dying," he admitted gravely, "Apparently there's some sort of poison in her body that's slowly killing her."

Casey placed a hand on his chin. "If I remember correctly, Fulcrum was talking about this... dart thing. It was called a AY-63 dart," he recalled out loud.

Immediately, Chuck flashed on the AY-63 dart, and he exclaimed quietly, "Dart AY-63 is made up of the deadly toxins Cyanide, a very weak dose of Ricin and Sarin. There's also a sleeping draught included in the dart so the victim will fall unconscious within the first 30 seconds of being shot. One dart will kill the victim after four days from the first shot. If Lara was shot with two and one day has already past..."

"She only has one more day to live," Casey figured out, his eyes wide with shock as he felt pain clutch at his chest, "But why would they give her back and possibly try to ransom the Intersect for the antidote?"

Chuck's eyes widened. "Because they want to see us squirm. If we have Lara with us, we see her in pain, and we are tempted all the more to try and save her. More or less, James and Jason want to see Casey squirm at the sight of his girlfriend dying," he figured out.

Mark took out a disk from his back pocket. "I found this on Lara, I'm not quite sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's from Fulcrum," he said.

Sarah took the disc from him. "Do you have-?"

"I have a TV inside the ER, so just come on in, and please try to react too bad at Lara. She's resting. I'll have my team take her to the ICU, where we'll do all we can to find an antidote," the CIA doctor stated before hesitating a moment before he continued, "If it comes the case that we cannot find a cure within the next 12 hours, we will do all we can to ease her pain before her death."

"No, Lara's not going to die," Chuck said disapprovingly.

He turned to the asset and forced a smile. "Ah, you must be Charles Bartowski, the human Intersect," he guessed, "I'm Mark Lawrence, world-class surgeon, but in truth, I'm with the CIA." Then he turned back to Casey and Sarah. "In any case, agents, I'll stay here to take care of Agent Clark until either an antidote is found or until her time of death. Now... come this way." He led the team into the ER.

Chuck couldn't help but gasp in shock at Lara's very still body on the operating table, a ventilator hooked up to her, helping her breathe for the time being. Instead of her originally white dress, she was wearing a blue patient's shift. Bloodied medical tools sat beside her, and the only sound in the room was the beeping of the heart rate monitor. Her heart was beating at only 58 BPM. They knew it was just a matter of time before the line would go flat.

Mark sighed as Casey gently touched her hand, trying not to shrink back at how cold it was, "She'll probably wake up early tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I'll just pop in this DVD." He put the DVD into the player and switched on the plasma screen TV.

Immediately, James' picture showed up. "Hello there, agents. I'm sure you're wondering about Miss Clark," he greeted before stepping aside, showing Lara tied up against a pole, her hands tied behind her back. Her body was already littered with injuries. "Now, I'll leave you and her to my brother."

As the older Wilson walked out of camera range, Jason stepped in, an evil grin on his face. "Hello, _agents,"_ he hissed, "Say hi to Lara." He walked back to her, grabbing her face as the camera zoomed in. Then he viciously punched her in the face, causing Chuck to wince.

"You know, you're a real pain," she groaned, "I'm afraid your brother is a lot more charming than you. Not to mention at least a _little bit _better looking than you." Casey could not help but smile at her familiar stubbornness.

Jason, however, was not amused and slapped her, which she ignored the pain and glared at him. Jason turned back to the camera. "If you want to see your precious Lara well again, give us the Intersect. She has the poisons Cyanide, Ricin, and Sarin flowing through her veins, and she will die within the next day or two. Agent Casey, would you _really_ risk her life? Or would you rather keep the Intersect and let an innocent woman die? Then again, Lara isn't really that innocent."

"Casey, don't do it, don't exchange the Intersect. I've lived a good life, though it may not have been very long, but nevertheless, good," Lara tried to reason, "Don't even _think_ about exchanging the Intersect for my life."

"Silence!" Jason snapped, drawing a slender knife from his belt. He lashed out at her before stabbing her in the gut, twisting the blade evilly.

Lara's eyes widened in pain before he pulled it out, then her eyes fluttered close and she collapsed against the pole, slipping onto her knees before falling limp.

"This is terrible," Sarah commented, though more or less stating the obvious, "She doesn't deserve any of that pain."

_I swear, Lara, when I get my hands on Jason, I'll make him pay for what he's done to you,_ Casey thought, his hands balling into fists,_ I swear that I'll never let him harm you again. It's my promise to you._

Jason wiped the blood off the blade before sheathing it again, then smiled as blood began to soak into the fabric of Lara's white dress. Then he looked back into the camera, aka, the agents watching. "Now, as I was saying, if you want the antidote to save Agent Clark, bring the Intersect at 2:00 PM inside the Burbank Opera House. No backup, or else we'll destroy the antidote. If you _don't_ come, however, then, well... I guess we'll find another way to get the Intersect. It's not like Lara's life is actually _worth _anything, anyway. Goodbye."

Then the screen went black, just as Mark's CIA assistants rolled Lara out of the ER and to the ICU. One assistant walked over to Mark and whispered something into his ear and the surgeon nodded before he left.

"What is it?" Chuck inquired, trying to forget about Lara's wounds.

"They're taking her to ICU Room 218, where she'll have two guards standing outside her door to protect her in case any Fulcrum agents want to come and try to finish the job," he explained before his eyes dimmed, "In addition... our scientists can't create a cure for the poison, I'm sorry. The only way we can save Lara's life is with the antidote that Fulcrum has."

"What should we do? We can't risk Chuck's safety," Sarah said, "Even the General said so."

"But we can't risk Lara's life," Chuck disagreed, "If she hadn't pushed me out of the way that would be _me_ lying on the stretcher dying. Plus, what about Casey? His outlook on life would never be the same again."

The major looked back at the shorter nerd and said, "You're a good person, Chuck, but I've got a job to do, and that's _not_ to protect Lara. Even though she's a very important person in my life, my mission and the asset come first. It's something we agreed on after we confessed our love for each other."

"I-It's still hard to imagine _you_ confessing your love," he commented.

Casey sighed and shook his head. "Can we go see Lara now? I know she won't regain consciousness for a few hours, but I just- want her to know that I'm there for her till the end," he said. _Damn... did I really just say that? Man, Lara has been getting under my skin' it's like she's really changed my personality. What the hell am I talking about? Of course she's changed my damn personality She's practically nearly broken down my Major's façade. I find myself apologizing to that moron Bartowski and I'm panicking over my old-time partner. What next? I'm going to cry and sob if Lara dies? Wait... damn... she is my lover; I probably would shed tears for her if she died. Wait a sec, no! That's- argh! Damn... something's seriously wrong with me!_

Mark ejected the DVD and put it back into its case, handing it to Sarah. "Of course," he said.

As they followed the doctor to the Intense Care Unit, Chuck couldn't help but feel pain and sadness tug at his heartstrings. Lara was going to die because she saved his life, and the one opportunity he has to save her, his request to do so is denied. If Lara died, how would he ever be able to look into Casey's eyes ever again?

"Chuck," Sarah said, "I know you want to save Lara's life because she saved yours, but you also have to know that Casey and I can't allow you to do that. As we've said before, your life is a lot more important than hers. Lara will understand, even as she lay dying, it's part of her duty."

They stopped outside Room 218, and Mark opened the door, gesturing them inside. The team walked in and stood quietly beside her bed. Casey sat down on her bedside, brushing away locks of black hair away from her face.

"Do you know around what time will she wake up?" Sarah queried.

The doctor/surgeon shook his head. "Not sure. Should be about in a few hours. In the meantime, we should all be getting some sleep. We'll have to begin preparations for the funeral."

Chuck flinched. "We're not going to do anything to help save her?" he asked, his eyes wide in shock.

Mark sighed and shook his head once more. "No, as Agent Walker has emphasized before, we can't risk your safety. The only way we could help Agent Clark is to ease her pain by killing her now, but I can't allow that to happen unless the Director orders me to."

"Director of the CIA?" Casey inquired, "Who is it now, anyway? Since Director Graham died?"

"Director Chris Clark," he answered.

"Clark?" Chuck pointed out, "Isn't that also Lara's last name?"

Both Sarah and Dr. Lawrence nodded.

"Director Clark is Lara's older brother," Sarah informed, "He took over after Director Graham died in the explosion of the sabotaged Intersect."

Casey looked back at the CIA agent who was bedridden. He didn't know that Lara had an older brother, more or less, a brother that was the Director of the CIA. He leaned down and kissed her brow. "I regret that I cannot save you, Lara, but I promise your death will not go without vengeance," he swore quietly.

At the same time, Chuck swore in his own heart that he would find a way to save Lara before time ran out. He would make sure of it. Even if it means getting screamed at by Sarah, Casey, and the General.

_Darn... If I do this... they're going to practically kill me,_ he thought, trying to force a mental grin before thinking unsurely, _I don't know... what would Casey say? Um... This might be fun?_

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**Well... I hope you're right, Chucky-boy, or else there's two words for ya: You're. Screwed. hahaha.**

**Chuck: *rolls eyes* thanks...  
me: you're welcome.  
Casey: She's right ya know, Bartowski.  
Sarah: You're not going ANYWHERE, Chuck.  
me: yeah he is, or at least he's gonna TRY.**

**Anyway, I hope you've liked this chapter! **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	11. Phase One: Escape

**So... here's the next chapter for those who enjoy reading this story. I hope you like this next chapter! I know this chapter is rather short compared to the others, but, well, there are reasons behind that. Mostly so that it co-exists/makes sense with the name of this chapter. hahaha.**

**This chapter might be a bit cheezy, and I probably put Casey a little outta character just for the occassion. **

**Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
Claimer: everything else (c) me**

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Chapter Ten: Phase One: Escape

Casey stayed vigil at Lara's side all night, not leaving her side. Sarah, Chuck and Mark stayed in the empty room next door after speaking with the General through the TV in the ER.

"I'm not a very good boyfriend, am I..." Casey said quietly before sighing, "Please wake up soon. I'm feeling like I'm going crazy here by talking to myself."

"Casey..." Lara sighed, half-opening her eyes, "Where am I? What time is it?"

"Lara, you're awake, finally, God, I thought you weren't ever gonna wake up while I was still awake," he responded, "You're at the hospital. It's 1:40 PM." _And 20 minutes till the deadline to get the antidote to save you. Damn James and Jason Wilson._

"I-I'm dying, Casey," she said in a sad voice, "The AY-63 dart, it's-"

He placed a finger over her lips, silencing her as he moved to sit on her bedside. "Shhh... I know. Bartowski flashed on it," he responded, "I'm sorry." Gently, he brushed his lips on hers.

Lara looked up into his eyes, her own golden eyes sad. "C-Casey," she whispered, "There's something I want to tell you. Something that I've been forced to keep closed up in me, letting only pieces of my feelings show through. I want to say this, not as your partner, but as a lover and a friend. I love you, John Casey, I love you with all my heart. I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you."

"Shhh... I know, I know," he mumbled, forgetting his Major's façade for a moment, "I love you too. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Her back arched and her heart rate jumped as pain shot through her body as the poison was affecting her. Casey held her down and tried to ease her pain by pressing his lips against hers.

"Lara, I-I'm afraid we can't get the antidote to save you," he apologized quietly.

She forced a smile. "I know. You've got to protect Charles," she muttered, "It's okay, Casey." Her hand reached up to touch his cheek, and he placed his hand over hers. "I understand everything," she said, "I've lived a good life. At least I know the man I love will be here with me the moment I die."

Very gently, he sat her up best as he could, then he let her head rested against his chest. "I'm sorry, Lara. I'm so sorry I can't save you." Tears ran freely from his eyes, dripping onto the top of Lara's head. His strong arms wrapped around her torso, keeping her close against him. Her cold hands rested atop his, and he held them tightly in his own, pulling her closer against him. She groaned as a spark of pain accommodated the change in position.

"Sorry," he said quietly, wiping away his tears and holding her tighter.

She didn't reply, quietly listening to his strong heartbeat. Her own heartbeat continued to slow, and the last time Casey looked at what the heart rate monitor said, her heart was only beating 47 reps per minute. Time was running out.

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Outside, Chuck watched painfully through the blinds at the loving couple. He was surprised at the tears that leaked from Casey's eyes, and he knew in his heart that the major had truly loved her.

_That's it, I'm going to do something. I can't just stand around and let one of my handlers die. If Casey's crying about it, then I have to do something_, the nerd thought determinedly, beginning to leave the hospital, _Okay, Sarah and Mark and in a briefing with the General to see if they can do anything to ease Lara's pain. And they're in the ER, which is the opposite direction of the exit. _Slowly, he began to creep towards the door before he would run like hell.

"Chuck?" Sarah's voice was right behind him and he turned around, a completely innocent grin on his face.

"Hey, Sarah," he replied, trying to be cool about it.

"Chuck, where are you going?" the blonde CIA agent inquired.

"Uh, I'm going home," he lied, "I need to drive Morgan to work and let Big Mike know that Casey and Lara won't be coming in. I don't want to be here when Lara... you know..."

She nodded gravely. "I'll check up on you later at the Buy More," she said, and watched as the human Intersect walked out of the ICU department.

Once Chuck got out of Sarah's sighting range, he sighed in relief and let his shoulders sag. "Okay, phase one is complete," he said to himself, "Now all I have to do is go to the meeting point and surrender myself to Fulcrum. But how will I ensure that what they give me is the antidote? Hmm... I'm smart, I should be able to figure this out."

Hurriedly, he got to the Nerd Herd car and began to drive towards the Burbank Opera House. He took a glance at the car clock. "1:45. Darn, I need to get there in 15 minutes," he muttered to himself. He stepped harder on the gas and sped towards the opera house.

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5 minutes later, Sarah burst into Room 218, and Casey looked up at her. His tears had already dried, and Lara's head still rested against his chest.

"Something wrong?" Casey began raspy. Then he cleared his throat and repeated, "Is something wrong, Agent Walker?"

"It's Chuck! I just called Ellie, and she said that Chuck never came home. He left 5 minutes ago and said he was going to go take Morgan to work because he didn't want to stay and watch Lara die," she explained quickly, "My gut tells me that he's going to the opera house to sacrifice himself to get the antidote for Lara!"

"What?!" Casey growled, "That idiot better have a plan!"

"Come _on,_ Casey! We've gotta go save him!" she snapped.

Lara smiled weakly. "That moron... he's trying... to make it up... to me... f-for saving... his life..." she breathed.

Casey gently moved her back onto the bed, her head resting against the pillow. "I'll be back, Lara, I promise," he told her quietly.

She gave a weak nod. "B-Bring Chuck back safely," she whispered, "With or without the antidote."

He kissed her forehead before letting his lips brush hers softly. Then he and Walker immediately ran out of the building, leaping into Casey's huge black van, which he took to get to the hospital.

Sarah immediately hopped behind the wheel, slamming her foot on the gas. In the back with all of the spy tracking equipment, Casey was loading up his weaponry, holstering his various guns, and checking all of the gun casings.

_Damn it Bartowski! What the hell are you thinking?! You're walking right into their trap! You're walking, UNARMED, into their trap!_ The Major screamed in his head,_ Why are you doing this?! Lara's not even your girlfriend? You've only know her for a few days! Why are you going through all this trouble to save her life?!_

Sarah's hands were clenched tightly on the wheel, her teeth gritted and her eyes filled with the desire to kill. _Damn it, Chuck! Why are you putting your life in danger?!_ She thought desperately,_ I just hope we're not too late!_

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Chuck walked nervously into the empty opera house, walking into the same hall in which the Burbank Talent Competition was held only less than two days ago.

A barrel was pressed against the side of his head and he was immediately still.

Jason Wilson grinned menacingly. "Hello," he greeted, "Mr. Bartowski, also known as the_ human Intersect_."

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**Cliffy!!!!!!! (And wow, Chuck is pretty sneaky)**

**Please Review and I'll update as soon as I can! **


	12. Phase Two: Get Captured Wait, What!

**Here's the next chapter! Well... things are getting a bit tense, Chuck's trying to play 'hero', and now Sarah and Casey have to go save him before he gets himself capture. Oh wait... too late for that. Btw, a few things to note in this chapter:**

**1. Casey put on the bulletproof vest in the van, as did Sarah (though Sarah's isn't mentioned)  
2. The only reason why James gave them the real antidote because one; it was a test to see whether they could make it back in time, and two; he still had feelings for Lara.  
3. The Fulcrum agents knew when Lara would die because while they still held her hostage they got one of their scientists to test her.**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
Claimer: Everything else (c) me**

**Now, without furthur ado, on with the story! (btw, I think this chapter name is awesome! lol.) PLEASE R&R!**

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Chapter Eleven: Phase Two: Get Captured. Wait, What?!

Sarah slammed the brakes as they stopped right in front of the entrance of the opera house. She and Casey practically leaped out of the van, firearms drawn and ran into the hall in which they were there only not a few days ago. They saw Jason Wilson holding a gun to Chuck's head, and James walking out from behind one of the stage curtains. He was clapping as he saw the NSA and CIA agent burst in, a huge grin on his face.

"Good job, agents," he complimented, "I see you've decided that saving Agent Clark is more important than protecting the Intersect."

"That's not-!" Sarah began, before Casey shot her a glance and she kept her mouth shut.

Chuck looked at James on the stage. "I'm here, giving myself up. Now give Casey and Sarah the antidote to save Lara," he demanded, though he was _not_ in the position to make demands.

He smiled, pulling out a small vial filled with green liquid. Then he tossed it over to Sarah, who caught it in her hands as Casey kept his gun trailed on Jason.

"How do we know that this is the _real_ antidote?" Sarah accused, very suspecting of the green liquid on her hands.

James chuckled, crossing his arms. "You're just going to have to trust me," he said, "But if you _really_ want proof, well... you can't get it. How about this? I swear on my life that the little vial that you're holding is the antidote to the poison in Dart AY-63."

Casey smirked. "What should your word mean to us? For all we know, you could be lying about this," he responded, "So what's your word suppose to mean to us?"

"That_ is_ true," Jason said, "But then again, you _did_ bring us the Intersect. So why would we need to lie on our part of the bargain?"

"No, we did not," Casey growled, "The Intersect was a moron and came here to save Agent Clark's life."

Chuck looked at him. "You know, every time you call me a moron, it hurts inside," he informed, "Don't you care about hurting my feelings?"

"In hell," he snapped back, "Now, get back here before I hurt you."

"As you can see, Casey, he _can't_," James hissed, "Not while he has a gun to his head."

"So what can we do that will make you give him back?" Sarah inquired, "Do you want money? Some mode of transportation? What?"

"There's nothing we want or need. We only need _him_," Jason replied, "But after we remove the Intersect from his head, you choose either you want him before or _after_ we kill him."

"Uh, how about you let me go and _not_ kill me at all?" Chuck suggested.

Jason smirked, "Good idea." He roughly pushed him down against the ground and began firing at Sarah and Casey, who, by some miracle, managed to dodge the bullets and jumped into the rows of seats. Chuck, carefully, crawled into the rows closest to him.

James leaped down and called out, "You know, you should be hurrying over back to the hospital. Hmmm... I'd say Lara only has... 15 minutes to live? The poison _should_ be entering her heart right about now, smothering the flames of life that still flicker."

_Damn it... he did this on purpose,_ Chuck thought, _He set the deadline close to the death time so they win. They get me, the Intersect, _and_ they kill Lara. They're killing two birds with one stone._

"You're lying!" Casey shouted angrily, "You're lying about this!"

"Time's ticking," Jason teased.

"Shut up!" the NSA agent yelled. At that moment, both he and Sarah shot toward the Fulcrum Agents general direction.

"Chuck! Get over here!" Sarah shouted.

"Yeah, moron, get outta_ there_ and over _here _right this instant!" Casey added rather angrily.

The nerd quickly crawled to the NSA and CIA agents, or at least,_ tried_ to, but he ducked down as gunshots flew over him._ I'm never going to another opera house ever again!_ He thought, _It's so violent and handlers get shot and kidnapped!_

"Sarah," Casey said in a low, quiet tone, "Go get Chuck. I'll cover you."

She nodded and immediately stood up and leaped over into another row while Casey covered her with a hail of gunfire into the rows of the Fulcrum agents. Surprisingly, she found herself to land behind Chuck, who yelped in surprise.

"Sarah! Sarah!" he hissed while half-freaking out, "Help me outta here! I don't wanna die!"

"Calm down, Chuck!" she said, trying to calm him down, "Come with me. We need to get back to Casey."

"We need backup here!" Casey hissed into his phone, calling for backup from the NSA.

Shots soared above him and he ducked down low, avoiding the rain of bullets. _Damn... this is beginning to get a little tough,_ he thought.

"Come out here and face me like a man, Wilson!" Casey shouted, "Yeah I'm talking you to Jason!"

"Okay, then we'll make the agreement that it's just you and me in a one-on-one fist fight, no guns, no weapon," Jason responded.

"How the hell am I suppose to trust you after what you did to my girlfriend?" he demanded, "You stabbed her you son of a-"

"You're _going_ to have to take our word for it," James interrupted before Casey completely lost his temper, "As you have to on the antidote. If we can prove it here, then why shouldn't the antidote be the same?"

"Okay, we're all going to stand on the count of three," Jason announced, "One, two, and three!"

Everyone abruptly stood up with their firearms pointing at each other. Only Chuck hid behind Sarah cowardly and _without_ a gun. Odd one out, much?

"Okay, Casey," Jason said, grinning, "You and I put down out guns and we're going to have a clean fist fight."

Casey grinned, immediately dropping his gun as Jason did. Even _if_ his brother shot at him, he was wearing a bulletproof vest. "Let's do this. I've got a score to settle with you," he hissed, throwing the first punch.

Jason blocked and counterattacked, but Casey blocked back. Punch by punch, kick by kick, both agents were evenly matched.... or _were_ they?

Chuck was thinking on using his little trick to get Casey into his angry center that had worked before when Casey was betrayed by his old sensei, Ty Bennett. _Okay, this_ should_ work_, he thought. "Casey! Casey! You love me! I know you do! I love you too!" he shouted, "Admit it! You _love_ me, John Casey!"

The fury rose in the Major's eyes, and as he made successful, direct punches, with each punch he grunted, "Keep. It. In. Your. Pants. Bartowski. Or. I'm. Going. To. Kill. You." With one last sweep, he brought Jason down, right as backup burst in.

James was surprised and immediately began to break a run for it, exiting through stage right, and doing his best to avoid capture, unlike his brother. _Damn it, Jason, I'll avenge your capture somehow..._ he thought, his mind more focused on escaping capture.

Major John Casey pinned the younger Wilson down and handcuffed him. Then he punched him one last time, nearly knocking the man unconscious. "I'm going to make sure you _get_ what you _deserve_," he hissed into the man's ear.

A low growl escaped from Jason's throat as blood flowed from his nose and the now-forming bruises could be seen on his face. "You'll pay for this, Casey, believe me. My brother will find a way to hurt you, either directly against you. Or through Lara," he threatened before a smirk crossed his face, "Speaking of which, I believe she only has about... 7 minutes left? Something like that?"

Shock was written all over Casey's face as he threw the handcuffed Fulcrum agent roughly toward the backup team leader. "Make sure _he_ gets thrown in a federal cell. It's Jason Wilson, younger brother of James Wilson, and near-assassin of CIA agent Lara Clark," he ordered, "I've got to go save a friend of mine."

With one fleeting look at Sarah and Chuck, Team Bartowski immediately ran out of the opera house, driving back over to the hospital as soon as they could. Time was running out for a dear friend of theirs.

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Back at ICU Room 218, Director Chris Clark sat by his sister's side, clutching her hand desperately. Short black bangs hung down his face, hiding the glistening tears in his light green eyes. He was of a slight build, and he was about a few centimetres taller than Casey. He was wearing a full black suit, and he desperately clutched Lara's cold hand his own. Time was slowly ticking away as Lara's heart slowed with every beat now. It was only pulsing weakly at 23 RPMs.

He looked up at the CIA doctor. "Isn't there _anything _you can do?" he begged.

Mark Lawrence shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The poison has already reached her heart, so there's nothing we can do now but wait," he answered sadly. _Where are Agents Casey and Walker?_ He thought, _If they're looking for the antidote, they're too late now..._

Chris looked back down at his bedridden sister before kissing her gently on the forehead. "Lara, I'm sorry I couldn't be here for you. I'm sorry I could only join you in your last moments," he apologized quietly, tears streaking down his cheeks, "I love you Sis." Then he forced a small chuckle, "Yeah, I know. This is coming from the man that's supposed to be the emotionless Director of the CIA. But I'm also an older brother that cares about their dying younger sister." He knew very well that she couldn't hear him, but he couldn't face the fact that she was about to die, even for the sake of an asset.

_Damn it, I should have known that this would happen at some point in time,_ he scolded himself, _and she's a spy, one of us. Why did I not just tell her to... like... retire from the agency? Why didn't I stop her before something like this happened? Damn it... right, she was too stubborn to retire. Said something like, 'gotta keep serving my country and doing my job, no matter that the agency can cover my whole life's plan', not to mention give me that damn convincing smile._

Director Clark laid his head down against hers, listening quietly as Lara's heart continued to give out. There were only a few moments left now.

"I'm sorry, Director," Mark apologized, feeling rather guilty that he couldn't save the agent's life.

Suddenly, Chuck, Sarah and Casey burst through the doors and Casey ran to Lara's side. He quickly looked back up at the heart rate monitor to see that it was dropping down from 15 RPMs. Quickly, he took the vial, popped off the lid, opened her mouth and poured the liquid down her throat, emptying it down to the last drop.

Moments later, her heart-line went flat, and Mark painfully looked up at the clock. "Time of death; 2:19 PM," he said quietly.

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**Another cliffy! (man, there's something up with me and cliffies.) **

**Was it too late? Is Agent Clark really gone forever? Find out in the next chapter (or perhaps even the epilogue if she DID die)!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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	13. Phase Three: Life or Death

**Okay, so here's the next chapter. Funny thing is; I'm updating this while I'm at school. In truth, I've already finished writing this story, so after this chapter there's just the epilogue. Best thing; There's a sequel which I've already started! Reason(s) why: there's a cliffy at the end of this story. **

**Readers! If you are the FIRST READER who is able to guess what the cliffy is, I will do a special oneshot of either a Charah or Lasey oneshot dedicated to you. The oneshot can be any type of genre (humor, romance, angst, tragedy, etc.), and it must be rated T, so no lemons. lol. The winner will be announced in the epilogue, so good luck to all!**

**PS: there is one little NCIS reference in this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
: NCIS (c) Donald Bellisario  
Claimer: Everything else (c) me**

**PLEASE R&R! (not to mention guess what the cliffy is: Put what happened and who did it)**

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Chapter Twelve: Phase Three: Life or Death

Casey dropped to his knees by her side, clenching her hands tightly in his as he let his tears freely run down his face. "Damn it, Lara, I'm sorry," he choked. _And damn me for letting my feelings show. I know you wouldn't have wanted me to cry like this,_ he thought, _Sometimes I think I wish I never had feelings for you. Never fell in love with you. Look where it's brought us. Me crying over your dead body._

Sarah bowed her head in respect. She didn't know Lara very well, but she knew that she was an agent to be respected. She had given her life to save Chuck's, and for that, she was grateful.

Mark didn't say anything, because he knew that if he tried, no words would come out of his mouth. He only clenched his hands by his sides as he knew he had failed to save a patient, his old friend, and a fellow CIA agent.

Chuck, however, was mortified. He, Sarah and Casey had nearly died to get the antidote, and now he found out it was already too late? He shook his head in disbelief and he wasn't quite willing to believe that Lara was dead. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, and he just barely held himself back from crying out and breaking down.

Without warning, a single beep echoed in the room, followed by many more beeps as Lara Clark's heartbeat continued to grow stronger. Her breathing had returned, and her hands tensed slightly in both Chris and Casey's. Casey wiped away his tears, trying to regain more of his normal hard façade than his weak, exposed one.

"Lara?' Chris chided quietly, gently shaking his sister, "Lara? Please, wake up, Sis."

Casey abruptly looked up at the man across on the other side of Lara's bed._ That_ was Lara's brother? The new CIA Director Chris Clark? "You're Director Chris Clark of the CIA?" he inquired.

The older Clark nodded. "Yes, I'm Lara's older brother, Chris Clark," he introduced, "I take it _you're_ Major John Casey? Lara's undercover lover?"

He nodded gravely as Lara's eyes gently stirred open, seeing both her brother and her boyfriend at her side.

"Damn..." she breathed half-jokingly, "If this is heaven, I like it already, as I know DiNozzo would say. But that would mean that both of you are dead, and I don't want that."

Casey leaned down and kissed her softly but desperately. "You're here with us on Earth, idiot. I thought I lost you for a sec there," he said, "Good to know you're back."

She smiled warmly. "It feels as if a huge weight has just been lifted off my chest," she said, "Feels kinda weird, if you ask me. Relieving, but weird." Then she turned to her brother. "Chris, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in DC?" she asked quietly.

"I received word that you were dying," he answered seriously, "and I knew I needed to be here with you. I still say that you should retire from the agency, and I know you're still going to say no."

Lara's smile widened. "You know it," she said.

Mark moved next to Casey and took Lara's hand in his, checking the coolness of her skin and how it was growing warmer. He nodded positively as he placed his hand on her forehead. "Good, good, your temperature is getting back to normal," he said, "You should be better by the next few weeks."

"Well... in any case, I'll speak with General Beckman in taking Lara off the job of protecting the Intersect until she gets better," Chris explained, "I know she won't mind, and I also know that she'll be grateful to know that she saved the Bartowski's life."

Lara looked over at Chuck, smiling. "And that he saved mine. Thank you, Chuck," she thanked gratefully, "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

"Wait... How did you know I went to get the antidote for you?" he implored, a bit surprised, though Sarah and Casey did not.

"After you left, Sarah burst in here telling Casey and I that you had most likely gone after the antidote. I told them to go and rescue you, either with or without the antidote. I didn't want you to get hurt trying to save my life," Lara explained quietly as Casey hovered over her protectively.

Mark took note of this and smiled. "Guys, why don't we give the Major and Agent Clark some alone time?" he suggested, half-hinting what was going on.

Everyone but Casey and Lara left the room, and he looked deeply into her tired golden eyes. "You've had a long few days, haven't you?" he began.

She gave a weak nod. "And after I get better, things are just going to continue from there," she said, "I'll continue to protect Charles unless I'm called away for another mission. Or unless Chuck _wants _me to leave," she explained, letting her heavy lids droop close.

"You're tired," he noted, kissing her gently on the forehead, "Get some sleep. You've been through a lot in the past few days."

She moaned quietly in agreement as calming sleep pulled at her. Her injuries didn't bother her as much as they did before probably because there were several sedatives in the antidote, not to mention that after what she's been through, her injuries seemed like nothing.

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Meanwhile, outside, Mark and Chris went to the ER to inform General Beckman of Lara's recovery. As for Chuck and Sarah, well, they were standing just outside Room 218.

Sarah suddenly lashed out at Chuck. "What the hell were you _thinking_, Chuck? You nearly got yourself _killed _if Casey and I hadn't made it in time!" she snapped.

He shrunk back. "I-I was only trying to save Lara's life," he defended.

"Idiot! It's _your_ life that matters! I know you meant well, but that was the most stupidest thing you could have done. You could have been_ killed_!" she continued angrily.

"I-I'm sorry," he apologized quietly.

She shook her head and sighed, her anger all simmered out. "Just don't do it again," she told him.

He pulled her forward and kissed her deeply. Right there and then, they began to make out, pulling each other closer and closer.

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Two weeks later, Lara had made a full recovery, and her brother and Mark had returned to DC so they could get back to work. Sarah and Chuck were just a _tiny_ bit more open about their relationship, though that was only mostly Chuck, for Sarah was still playing her professional role.

The team was down below the Orange Orange in the Castle, having a briefing with the General. Chuck and Casey was wearing their Buy More uniforms, Sarah was wearing her Orange Orange shirt with white pants, and Lara was in a short sleeve white blouse and faded blue jeans.

"Good to see that you've made a successful recovery," Beckman said to Lara, "Thank you for putting your life on the line to save Mr. Bartowski's. Your country owes you one, Agent Clark."

She dipped her head. "Thank you, General," she replied, "It's an honour to protect our military's most valuable secrets."

"_Was_ an honour," she corrected.

"P-Pardon me?" Chuck asked, his eyes wide, "What do you mean 'was'?"

"Agent Clark is being temporarily reassigned. Clark, you're taking a private jet in an hour that will take you across seas to a disclosed location. Private jet code JW-7638," she explained, "Your mission is to help a man named Ronald Ferguson. He claims to not know you, but has requested you and you _alone_ to help him. Does the name sound familiar to you?"

She crossed her arms, shaking her head. "No, but I will proceed immediately with the mission," she said, "After my mission is complete, I request to return here in Burbank to continue protecting Mr. Bartowski alongside Agents Walker and Casey."

The General gave a single nod. "Granted. You leave in an hour, Agent Clark," she said, "Be careful, Lara, the mission itself is highly suspicious, and I strongly suggest that you proceed with caution." Then the screen went blank.

"It seems kinda iffy," Chuck commented, "Are you sure you wanna go?"

Lara nodded gravely. "My gut feeling is that I should actually remain here, but I've already told the General that I will go. I have a feeling there is more behind this than I know," she replied before smiling and shaking her head, "Forget about it. It's my mission, not yours. All you have to worry about is to stay safe." Then she turned to Sarah and Casey. "Keep him safe, you two."

Both agents nodded. Sarah shook Lara's hand warmly. "Thank you for everything you've done to help Chuck," she said.

"Knowing that you and Casey will continue protecting him is all the thanks I need," Lara retorted.

Chuck first shook her hand before pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank you, Lara. You saved my life twice," he thanked gratefully, "I'd probably be in Fulcrum's hands if it weren't for you."

She chuckled, "And thank you, Chuck. You went through all that trouble to save my life by putting your own in jeopardy. Yeah, I have to admit it was pretty stupid of you to do that, but I'm thankful that you did."

They pulled away and Chuck sniffed, trying not to break into tears. Who knows what awaited her during her mission? He knew that this may be the last time he'd see her alive.

"Hey, don't worry, Chuck," Lara reassured, "I'll come right back after I complete my mission." Then she turned to Casey, whose face was as solemn as ever.

"I'm taking you to the airport, so we don't have to say our goodbyes just yet," he declared.

She shook her head in disagreement, placing a gentle hand on his chest. "No, Casey. I need you to take me back to the apartment so I can pack my things. You've gotta continue doing your job," she disagreed, "As I've gotta do mine."

His eyes hardened as he looked into hers before reluctantly giving in, "Fine. Let's get going." He began to make his way up the stairwell out of the Castle.

"I'm coming too!" Chuck exclaimed.

Lara laughed, handing him a letter. "No, you've got to give _this _to Big Mike. It's my letter of temporary resignation. My story: My childhood friend's mother got into a terrible accident across seas, and I've got to accompany them there because their mother was very kind to me when I was young," she explained, "He'll probably believe it. Goodbye, Chuck." Then she went up the stairwell and followed Casey, leaving Sarah and Chuck alone together.

"Sarah, do you think she'll be okay?" Chuck inquired worriedly.

The CIA agent smiled and nodded. "She's been through worse, after all," she reassured.

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Back at Casa Bartowski, Lara packed up what she _had_ unpacked two weeks ago, and Casey helped her load it into the taxi. When it was all packed, an awkward silence hung between the two as neither of them wanted to say goodbye.

Lara sighed, "Well... it was good to see you again, Casey."

"Yeah, you too," he retorted, "So... come around sometimes. I'll be here."

"I guess this is goodbye for now," she said.

He nodded, watching her turn away. Then he decided, "Ah, screw this." He grabbed her arm, twisting her around and kissed her passionately, one arm tightly around her waist and the other hand on the back of her head, pulling her closer. She kissed back, one hand on his chest while the other was on his arm. For a few moments, they made out passionately, then they finally pulled away, resting their foreheads together before Lara pulled away and smiled at him.

"Oh, that reminds me," he stated suddenly, drawing out the familiar golden heart necklace from his pocket, "This belongs to you."

She shook her head. "Keep it. It'll remind you of me," she responded.

"I'd never forget _you_," he teased, a smirk working its way onto his face, "You always do the craziest and stupidest stunts. Not to mention you've slept by my side ever since you were released from the hospital."

She laughed. "Slept by and not with, remember. I'll see you later, Casey," she said.

"Be seeing you," he retorted as he watched her climb into the taxi and driving away.

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**You may THINK it's over, but there's still the epilogue left. What do you think the cliffy is? **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	14. Epilogue: Not According to Plan

**Hmm... Here's the epilogue! Hope you like it!**

**Sadly... no one came up with the right answer, but I heard some great suggestions! Thanks to ~Bianquinha and ~WafflemanX for their awesome suggestions!  
HOWEVER, because Bianquinha and WafflemanX were the ONLY reviewers for the last chapter, each of them still get the prize of one oneshot each. (I hope you both are reading this.)  
If you are Bianquinha and or WafflemanX, please send me a PM and I'll try to get your oneshots up as soon as I can. Remember, either Charah or Lasey goodness, and any genre you want. Only rules are no lemons. lol. **

**Please R&R for this last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Chuck (c) Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak  
Claimer: everything else (c) me**

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Epilogue: Not According to Plan

An hour and a half later, Chuck was busily working at the Buy More, Casey was nowhere to be seen, and Sarah walked in, quickly strolling over to him.

"Chuck, come with me, we've got a mission from Command," she told him quietly.

He looked over at Morgan. "Hey buddy, cover for me?" he asked.

"Got it," the bearded-man replied.

The couple hurried to Orange Orange and down into the Castle, where Casey was waiting for them.

He glared at them with his normal Casey-ness and grunted, "S'about time you two got here. The meeting's about to start."

The plasma screen switched on, and General Beckman's grave face appeared. "Good afternoon, Team Bartowski."

"Afternoon, General," they all replied.

"What's this briefing about?" Chuck asked straightforwardly, "What's our mission?"

Surprising them all, she hesitated. She didn't exactly know how the team would take this new piece of information.

"Is something wrong, General Beckman?" Casey inquired, a little concerned now.

"Yes, Major, there is," she answered, "I regret to inform you... that Agent Lara Clark is dead."

A deadly silence filled the room as the news sank into them.

"What? What do you mean General?" Chuck demanded, "We just saw her alive and well this morning. How could she be dead? I don't think she's arrived in her destination yet obviously so she couldn't have gotten herself killed there."

The NSA general shook her head. "No, she never _will_ arrive to her destination, either. A missile was fired and impacted her plane, destroying it completely over the Pacific Ocean. It seems that this was no accident. No one could have survived that blast, so the motive of the missile appears to be murder. We still don't know who did it, but word has been sent out to the public that Lara's plane JW-7638, was destroyed. We left out the details that a missile was the cause, and instead said that there was something wrong with the engine, and as a result it exploded, killing everyone on board. We did not state the names of who was on board, and only our agencies know who _really_ was on board. It seems that Ronald Ferguson wasn't a real person, only an alias. This person never even existed. I'm afraid we didn't think to check before we sent her on the mission. I'm sorry."

Both Chuck and Sarah looked over at Casey, whose eyes were wide in shock.

"N-No... impossible..." he breathed, "Lara can't be..."

"I'm sorry, Casey," the General apologized, "I know how much she must have meant to you."

"I guess not everyone can cheat Death twice," Sarah commented quietly.

Casey looked up at the screen with hard, desperate eyes. "Have you discovered the culprit behind Agent Clark's murder?" he asked, his voice barely neutral.

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Major. We're still on the case of that, though we suspect that the one who created the alias was behind this. The CIA and NSA have sent helicopters to investigate the site, but I fear that there is nothing that we can rely on to help us find her killer," she explained, "Your 'mission' is from there, see if you can trace out who may have wanted to see Agent Clark dead. Chuck, if you flash on anything that may have relations to the murder, let Agents Walker and Casey know."

The screen went blank and a silence filled the room as Casey looked down and his hands curled into fists. _Damn it, I should have gone with her to the airport. Maybe I could have seen this coming before she got on that plane,_ he thought angrily.

"I'm sorry, Casey," Sarah apologized quietly, "If you want I can look after Chuck for the rest of today."

The Major nodded wordlessly and trudged up the stairwell and out of the Castle.

"Poor, poor Casey," Chuck said quietly.

Outside, Casey looked at the golden heart necklace on the palm of his hand and it brought back memories of them together. He clasped the necklace around his neck and tucked it in his shirt, looking up at the bright blue sky.

"I promise," he whispered, "I promise I'll find your killer and see to it that they pay for killing you. For taking you away from me."

And thus... the hunt for Lara Clark's murderer began.

**THE END**

**(To Be Continued in: Chuck Versus NCIS)  
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Sad ending, huh? I hope you liked this story!

Please REVIEW!

And the link to the sequel will be up tomorrow (on my birthday! Yay!) , Chuck Versus NCIS, where Team Bartowski hooks up with the NCIS team to work to find Lara's killer. Casey might even lose his temper when Gibbs accuses him of murdering his girlfriend. And what role does Bryce Larkin and his new girlfriend play in all of this?

(Check out my author page tomorrow to find the next story) Or... I'll "update" by posting up the link on THIS epilogue tomorrow! YAY!

EDIT: Here's the link to the sequel. First you need to enter in the standard and then copy and paste THIS: /s/5049018/1/  
Either that will work or this: /s/5049018/1/Chuck_Versus_NCIS

Once again, PLEASE REVIEW!


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